


Time and Again

by Silvarbelle



Category: Xiaolin Showdown (Cartoon)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-13
Updated: 2012-01-13
Packaged: 2017-10-29 11:21:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 28,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/319339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silvarbelle/pseuds/Silvarbelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Omi sends himself on an errand of do-good to the far past.  Chase sends Jack to that same past to make sure Omi's mission fails.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Never contend with a Man Who Has Nothing to Lose

**Author's Note:**

> This story has been refurbished since its last appearance on the internet. I would like to point out that when I originally wrote it and posted it, Season Three of Xiaolin Showdown had not yet begun. To my immense surprise, the finale for the series happened and the plot of the end episodes was extremely similar to the plot for this story. I wrote this story BEFORE “Time After Time” aired on television. That is why you will not find me saying it is “episode related.” It isn’t. I will also point out that I have changed a few things about Past!Chase’s appearance from the original post of this story.

Omi sighed as he and his fellow monks gathered in the courtyard to face Master Fung.

“I am sorry, Master,” he said quietly. “We failed to retrieve the Panda Pagoda.”

Fung sighed and bowed his head. “I’m certain you did all you could, young Dragons. Hannibal Bean is a most formidable foe. It is bad enough that you must contend with the likes of Chase Young alone, now you are faced with him and the one who turned him to Evil.”

“Yeah,” groused Dojo, slithering forward to climb his way up onto Fung’s shoulders. “It’d be nice if Chase had never listened to Hannibal, but them’s the breaks.”

While the others followed behind Fung and Dojo, Omi stood frozen as an idea began germinating in his mind.

 

*~*~*

 

Later that evening, he sat with his friends around the fire pit in the meditation garden.

“I believe I have the solution to our problem,” he told his friends with a grin.

“Like what? Just hand over our sashes and start waving ‘Go, Heylin, Go!’ banners?” Raimundo snapped, and fell backwards onto the grass to look up at the stars.

“Sure looks like it might be a possibility,” Clay said dejectedly.

“You guys can give up, but _I’m_ going down _swinging_ ,” Kimiko declared.

“But with my solution, we do not have to go down at all!” Omi said excitedly.

“Oh, sure… Go on, Omi – tell us just how you’re going to save the day _again_ ,” sighed Raimundo.

Omi hesitated, stung by his friend’s words and tone.

Raimundo noticed and he grimaced. Rolling over, he reached out to lightly touch Omi’s shoulder and said, “I’m sorry, bro – I know you mean well. Go on and tell us what you have cookin’ in that round head of yours.”

Omi smacked Rai’s hand off his shoulder and gave him a mock-glare, but then grinned and said, “Dojo gave me the idea earlier. He said that it would be better if Chase Young had never been influenced by Hannibal Bean.”

“Well, that’s right true enough,” began Clay. “But, I don’t—“

“Remember that my elder self from the future hid the Sands of Time? I know where he – I mean, I – would have hidden it,” interrupted Omi. “I say we take the Sands of Time and go back to when Chase Young was still on the side of Good, and convince him that the Heylin path is the wrong path to choose.”

Earth, Wind, and Fire sat up straight and looked worriedly at Water.

“Whoa, hold on there, partner,” Clay said, holding up one hand, palm outwards.

“Omi, mucking around with Time is _dangerous_ ,” argued Kimiko.

“Yeah, dude! You could go back and accidentally start your own family line, or change things for the _worse!_ ” Raimundo added.

“I have no intention of starting any family and I do not see how things could get much _worse_ ,” snapped Omi. “We have not won a Showdown in weeks. We are plagued by Hannibal Bean and Wuya, Chase Young, _and_ Jack Spicer. It is like using kung fu against a swarm of plankton! Tell me, how can it possibly get _worse?_ ”

No one had a readily available answer beyond: “I still don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Omi sighed and wondered if this discussion was worth the headache.


	2. Which Came First: the Future or the Past?

Jack was literally shaking in his shoes as he entered Chase Young’s mountain palace, escorted by a tiger, a lion, and a black jaguar.

He was led up the first of many long staircases until, finally, he arrived in the upper most chamber – the dining room.

The table was full of food and Chase was seated at the head of the table. An empty chair was set on the side of the table to Chase’s right.

“Jack,” Chase said with a wicked grin. “Do come in and join me for dinner.”

Jack stopped stone still where he was and demanded, “Who are you and what have you done with Chase Young?”

Chase’s smile fell away and he frowned, and then snapped his fingers. Instantly, the three jungle cats got behind Jack and _roared_.

With a scream, Jack bolted forward, crashing into the empty chair and toppling both it and himself to the floor.

Sighing, Chase got up, and caught Jack’s coat collar in one hand and the back of the chair in the other, and pulled both upright with ease. Once the chair was settled on all four legs, he plopped Jack into the seat and returned to his own.

“Spicer, try not to have a heart attack and die just yet, won’t you? I actually need your help – for once,” Chase admonished lightly.

Jack stared, wide-eyed, at his favorite Evil Hero. “You do?”

“Did you have an extra bowl of stupid this morning, boy?” the evil everlord growled.

Jack crossed his arms over his chest with a glare. “Being mean to me will not get you whatever it is you want from me. Just so you know.”

Sighing, Chase gestured at the table. “Eat up, Spicer – then we need to talk.”

Jack looked worriedly at the piles of food and then back at Chase.

“I haven’t poisoned anything, you foolish boy!” Chase snarled. “Were you raised by psychopathic werewolves that you don’t understand the finer points of etiquette?”

“No,” Jack replied quietly, quickly reaching for a ladle. “I just don’t expect any kindness to be given to me from _you_.”

Chase frowned and turned his attention to his Lao Mang Lone soup.

The two of them ate in silence; Jack only speaking long enough to say that the food was very good and thanking Chase for the meal before shutting up. Chase merely nodded and took it upon himself to pile more green vegetables onto Jack’s plate. The teenager gave him a mulish glower, but didn’t argue.

Eventually, after they finished the meal with dessert – Jack was intrigued to notice that Chase apparently enjoyed sweet treats quite a bit – Chase asked Jack to walk with him. Recognizing that the request was, in fact, an order, Jack got up and walked with Chase without protest. The two of them were trailed by the lion, tiger, and black jaguar.

Jack looked up at the taller man and then away again. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

Chase muttered about the impatience of youth, but sighed and decided to indulge the teenager. “Spicer, you are about to go on a monumental trip.”

“What, you’re suddenly a fortune-teller now?” Jack asked, incredulous, then meeped and shrank back at the angry glare Chase gave him.

When he deemed Jack to be sufficiently cowed, the evil everlord spoke again.

“Within a few hours, Omi will make a desperate journey using the Sands of Time – do you have any ideas on what that mission might be?”

Jack thought for a moment, piecing various clues together. Then he glanced at Chase and said, “He’s going to go back and try to stop you from turning Evil.”

Chase smiled. “Excellent, Jack. I am _most_ pleased.”

Jack grinned proudly.

“You are correct – Omi will indeed try to stop me from turning to Evil. That’s where you come in.” When Jack opened his mouth, Chase held up a hand and Jack instantly closed his mouth again. “Thank you. The reason you are there is because I distinctly remember you, Spicer. You and I have met before this time – fifteen-hundred years ago, actually.”

Jack’s eyes widened, but he didn’t speak.

Chase stopped walking and turned to face the youth directly, staring at him intently. “You are to keep an eye on Omi. Follow him wherever he goes and the instant he activates the Sands of Time, you are to join him however you can.”

Jack looked up into the intense gold eyes for a long moment. Then he said, “I suppose that _if_ you had any regrets, we wouldn’t be standing here talking about it because you’d be nothing more than a pile of bones in a grave somewhere, and I would never have met you – or even heard of you, for that matter.”

Chase nodded and then quirked a wry grin as he said, “Fifteen-hundred years ago, I couldn’t _spell_ ‘transcendent parahuman deity’ and now… I am one.”

The younger man snickered. “I can understand that. Alright, then – what are my orders?”

“I can tell you nothing except that you must be yourself. I can give you no forewarning or events will not play out as they are destined to. You are to take along no weapons and no robots – not even your heli-bot. Omi will supply the Shen-Gong-Wu.”

“Okay – but it would sure be helpful if you could give me a hint.”

Chase shook his head. “I cannot. It is imperative that you do not know what will happen. You will know what I mean when the time comes.” He reached out to grip Jack’s shoulders, frowning slightly at the automatic flinch the youth gave at the sight of the big hands coming towards him.

“Jack, it is vital that you do not second-guess yourself. Do not wonder what you think I would want you to do. You _must_ go with your first instincts. You _must_ be yourself – not what you think I would want you to be. Everything hinges on this; do you understand?”

Jack nodded. “Be myself – that’s it, period. Got it.”

“Good. Now, get going. Omi will be leaving in a few hours,” Chase said, and he let go of the younger man and stepped back.

“I won’t let you down, Chase,” the young man said somberly, and he walked away so he could get back to his air car and begin the mission.

“I _know_ you won’t, Jack,” Chase murmured softly, watching the pale, slim form go down the stairs. “See you _soon_.”


	3. Time Paradoxes Will Have Given Me A Headache

“Ahhh… there you are,” whispered Omi with a grin. “Right where I will leave you.”

Carefully, Omi pulled the Sands of Time out of its hiding place and looked at it for a long moment.

 _Am I doing the right thing?_ he wondered. _After all, if I have gone back in time to change things, wouldn’t they **be** changed?_

He waffled back and forth, trying to make a decision. Finally, he decided that making an attempt and possibly failing was better than never having tried at all. He hated to disappoint and frighten his friends, but if he succeeded, it would be worth it.

Holding the Sands of Time tightly, Omi closed his eyes and fixed his destination firmly in mind, having researched the historical scrolls and asked Dojo several questions in order to get the correct time and place for arrival.

“Sands of Time!” he called out, and then his eyes flew open when something jarred the Shen-Gong-Wu in his hands. “Jack Spice—“

The glow from the Shen-Gong-Wu brightened, eclipsing the wicked grin on Jack Spicer’s face.

 

*~*~*

 

The two of them rematerialized in a dense forest, the floor dappled by the glow of a full moon overhead shining down through the tree leaves.

“Jack Spicer!” Omi growled. “What are you doing here?!”

“I’m on my own mission, Baldilocks!” Jack snapped. “Both sides get a fair hearing at _this_ trial!”

Omi scowled. “Chase Young – he spied upon me _again!_ ”

“He didn’t _have to_ , pea-brain! He _remembers_ you – remembers us _both_.”

Omi blinked slowly, then frowned again as he said, “Be that as it may, you will not—“

That was when a monster came crashing through the forest.

Both Omi and Jack screamed and bolted apart, but not before Jack managed to snag the Sands of Time from Omi’s grasp pre-leap. He didn’t _use_ it, but he took it anyway, and hid himself in a thicket of bushes as he watched the monster – a big, craggy, black thing that appeared to be made of solid rock with glowing red eyes – turn its attention to Omi, who was leaping from tree to tree.

Jack watched as Omi tried again and again to attack the monster and each time the monster repelled the attacks with ease. Even _Wudai Neptune Water_ didn’t work, and Jack wondered why Chase hadn’t said anything about Omi getting squished like a bug in the past. Then he sighed and shrugged because, obviously, Omi wouldn’t get squished.

However, it certainly looked like that was about to be the case, even though Jack could see no sign of a hero anywhere in sight. He sighed again – apparently, _he_ was going to have to do something.

Gathering what meager scraps of courage he had, Jack bolted from the underbrush and into the new clearing made by the heavy-handed blows from the monster. Waving his arms, he began shouting at the top of his lungs.

The monster turned and lunged faster than any gigantic being had a right to.

Jack closed his eyes, certain that the humongous clawed fist heading for him was the end of him, and screamed as he felt something slam into him, lifting him up and propelling him—

—to the _right?_

Gasping, Jack opened his eyes and saw the monster receding in his vision. He also saw that Master Monk Guan dude following right behind, carrying Omi tucked up under one arm.

That meant….

Turning his head to the far left, Jack saw familiar long, black, glossy hair and nearly went limp as he realized who’d just rescued him.

There was a jolt as Chase landed on the branch of a big tree and then another jolt as the warrior went leaping through the air again, swiftly followed by Master Monk Guan and Omi.

Two seconds later, the two youths found themselves securely planted in a spacious nest, and then the two master martial artists were gone again, heading back for the monster that was lumbering through the woods after them.

“Just _who_ do they think they are?” Omi yowled, outraged. He surged to his feet. “I will—“

Jack grabbed the smaller teenager and hauled him back down into the nest. “Omi, for once, give your ego a rest and sit this one out, okay? We were _both_ about to get our butts handed to us; let’s see what Chase and Guan can do, huh?”

Omi sneered at the evil young man. “We both know what they can do.”

“Yeah, against _each other_. Let’s see what they can do as a _team_.”

“You make a surprising amount of good sense when you care to do so, Jack Spicer,” said Omi reluctantly, and they watched the battle that ensued.

They peered over the edge of the giant leaf pile nest they’d been set in, eager to see the battle.

Jack frowned. “Where’s Chase? And where’d the blue guy come from?”

Omi grinned. “Do you not recognize him, Jack Spicer? He _is_ Chase Young!”

The albino teen gaped. No way! It _couldn’t_ be! But, when the young martial artist neatly flipped out of the way to a vantage point closer to his hiding spot, Jack could clearly see that the man dressed in blue was none other than Chase Young.

Guan and Chase were amazing as they worked together, playing off each other’s strengths and shoring up each other’s weaknesses to defeat the gigantic monster. By the time they were done, the monster had howled its death knell and crumbled into a pile of rubble under the skilled attacks from the men and their spears.

Omi and Jack glanced at each other, then back to the warriors, and said in unison, “Wow.”

Taking a moment to catch their breath, the two warriors looked at each other and nodded silently; expressing their communication simply, each knowing what the other meant from long association. Then, they turned their attention to the two youths at the top of the tree.

Jack and Omi scrambled back, making room, and moments later, Chase and Guan landed at the edge of the big nest and crouched down to get a better look at the newcomers.

The two warriors didn’t look any different, age-wise, from how they did in the future, but both Omi and Jack knew that in their current time 1500 years in the past, they were in their early to mid-twenties.

That was the only thing similar to what Omi and Jack knew of the martial artists’ future counterparts.

Guan had _hair_ , for one thing; a patch of it attached to the back of his skull from which a long, thick black braid dangled down. For another thing, he was entirely bare from the waist up. There was no shirt, no mala beads… he wore only rust-brown pants, stockings, shoes, and a black sash. His spear was present, but that was it.

Chase was entirely different. His hair was not spiking and curling, but instead hung neatly down his back, straight as a pin. His ears were human-round, and his eyes had human-round pupils, though the gold color of them remained unchanged. Instead of the armor and silk black suit they were so familiar with, he wore _blue_. Loose, dark blue trousers of homespun linen that belled at the ankle; a sky blue sash wrapped around his waist; and a robin’s egg blue tunic that was open from neck to waist. The tunic was belted neatly shut by the sash, but still… he was completely bare from his collarbones all the way to his waist, showing off a slender, yet muscular torso.

Jack would have been gaping at Chase’s bare chest for a lot longer if he hadn’t been caught by the hard look in the familiar gold eyes. He couldn’t help but shiver when Chase’s eyes – after giving Omi a thorough going-over – locked on him and stayed there. He could not read the expression in Chase’s eyes and that frightened him more than anything.

“Who are you?” Chase finally asked, though it was a bit difficult to understand him. It was as though the words were being put through a jumbler and coming out slightly off-balance.

Omi glanced over to Jack, who shrugged and said, “This is 6th century China. The transition is being made from Classic Chinese to Modern language at this time. The change hasn’t had time to become permanent yet.”

Omi nodded. “Putonghua does not get instated until nearly four tens of years before we are born, which is a long time from now.”

“What are you two talking about?” Guan asked calmly.

Omi drew himself up and then bowed deeply to the master before him. “I beg your pardon, Master Monk Guan. I am Omi – the Dragon of Water from the Xiaolin Temple.”

The warriors then looked to Jack, who smirked and said, “Jack Spicer – evil boy genius.”

Both warriors blinked and then frowned.

“How did you know Guan’s name, little one?” Chase asked Omi, though he didn’t take his eyes off of Jack for a second.

Omi’s jaw clenched for a moment before he realized that at this point in time, Chase wasn’t intentionally using the moniker as a way to needle him, but simply because it suited him to do so.

“We are from the future. The both of you are known to us,” said Omi quietly, “for the two of you are alive in our time.”

“When, precisely, _is_ your time?”

“Fifteen-hundred years from now.”

Guan and Chase looked at each other and then back to the teenagers.

“Impossible,” laughed Chase easily.

“It is _not_ , though it may currently seem that way to you,” Omi shot back. “I am here to stop a terrible thing from happening.”

“And you…?” Guan asked Jack.

“I’m here to see to it that it _does_ happen – on _his_ orders,” Jack said, pointing at Chase.

“That doesn’t make much sense,” argued Chase affably. “Why would I want to see a terrible thing done?”

“Well, for starters, in _our_ time, you’re one of the baddest, most evil forces on the planet.”

Chase’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Guan looked discomfited as well. Finally, Chase shook his head.

“No – impossible,” he said fiercely.

“Not only is it _possible_ , but it _happened_. What hasn’t happened _yet_ for you is already _our_ history,” Jack said. “Fifteen-hundred years from now, your then-self orders me to follow Twinkie, here, back into the past to see to it that you accept your fate.”

Omi scowled and punched Jack hard in his right arm.

Jack yelped and grabbed his arm, then glowered fiercely at Omi. “What was _that_ for?!”

“I demand that you stop disparaging my height _at once!_ ” Omi yelled.

“It’s time to face facts, Baldilocks – you’re short, yellow, and disgustingly sweet. I’m sorry, but _you’re a snack food!_ Deal with it and get on with what passes for your life!” Jack shouted back.

The two of them, by this point, had moved so that they were glaring at each other face-to-face – Omi standing while Jack knelt down in the nest.

Chase and Guan looked at each other and shrugged. They didn’t understand half of what the strange pale young man with the red eyes had said.

“Excuse me, children,” Chase interrupted calmly, and the two youths turned their heads to look at him. “I’m sure this is fascinating – whatever it is you’re talking about – but would you mind if we relocated elsewhere to finish this discussion? There are better places to be than in the middle of a monster-infested forest.”

Jack tensed and looked around fearfully. High up in the tree, the moonlight had an easier time of reaching them, but the surrounding forest and its floor were very, very dimly lit.

“Th-There are _more_ monsters out there?” Jack asked, his voice going high in his worry.

“There are,” said Guan decisively. “We had just finished a quest to defeat a larger evil when we saw this monster on the move and knew it to be tracking prey. Since the only prey it eats is innocent people, we knew someone was in danger.”

“Then it is only I who was in danger,” said Omi, shooting a smug look at Jack.

“If that is so, then the monster would have ignored this boy’s attempts to get its attention,” Chase said, gesturing at Jack.

“Hey! _Evil_ genius, here! And stop calling me ‘boy’; I’m eighteen!” Jack grumbled.

“Did you not label yourself as such when you introduced yourself?” Guan asked.

“I’ve _gotta_ find a catchier title,” sighed Jack.

“Apparently so, since you are not evil enough,” Chase said with a grin. “If the topic is finished, we should move away from here while we can.”

“See, there’s you _thinking_ you’re funny and here’s me _knowing_ you’re not,” Jack sniped.

“Are you this disrespectful in the future?” Chase asked, one eyebrow raised.

“Like you would not believe,” Omi piped up, then grinned hugely when Jack gave him an annoyed look.

“Let us be off,” Guan announced, and stood up, went to the edge of the nest, and leaped over the side.

He was swiftly followed by Omi and Chase, and then the three of them looked up to where Jack – who was not wearing his heli-pack – knelt at the edge of the nest, looking down at the ground worriedly.

“Well? Join us!” Chase called up to Jack.

Omi laughed. “Jack does not know how to leap – he has no martial arts skills.”

“Keep poking, Short-Sheet,” growled Spicer. “I’m _dying_ to poke back.”

“ _Children_ ,” Chase rumbled warningly, and Jack blinked, startled to discover that Good!Chase and Evil!Chase sounded the same when annoyed. “Please cease your bickering; we haven’t time for it.” Then he held up his arms and said, “Jump, Spicer.”

“You have _got_ to be kidding me,” Jack blurted out, incredulous.

“I assure you, I am not ‘kidding’. I’ve already rescued you once – what reason have you to not trust me?”

“The ‘you’ that _I_ know—“

“Does not exist _now_ ,” said Chase firmly. “Trust me, Spicer, and jump.”

Jack bit his lower lip, indecisive. Finally, he sighed and figured that even if he did splat on the ground, at least he did it following Chase’s orders, so the older man couldn’t complain.

Standing up, Jack closed his eyes and stepped over the edge of the nest, doing his best to stifle the scream that wanted out.

A bare second later, he landed easily in strong, sturdy arms and gasped as he was caught, held, and then swiftly deposited onto his feet. Opening his eyes, he stared up into an amused gold gaze, unaware that “hero worship” was writ loud and clear in his expression.

Chase grinned, ruffled Jack’s hair, and turned away to begin leading the way out of the forest.

Omi gave Jack a superior look and began following.

Guan nodded his head to Jack and held out his hand in a gesture that invited the teenager to start moving.

Shrugging, Jack did so and the merry little band of four began making their way to safety.


	4. It's Hard to Predict the Future When They Keep Changing the Past

Jack was exhausted by the time he and the Good Guys made camp several miles away from the dark forest they’d exited from.

They settled in a small alcove at the edge of a small lake. The alcove was formed on two sides by several large boulders piled together to create a natural windbreak. It was here that Chase and Guan piled driftwood together inside of a rock circle on the sand to create a small yet warm fire.

Jack sat as close to the fire as he dared; his knees drawn up and his arms crossed over them, with his chin resting on his arms. He began to relax when the heat from the fire seeped into his clothing and then his body.

Guan and Chase pulled jerky from their sashes to share with the two youths. Omi bowed his head in thanks and Jack sighed but said thank-you as well.

After the four of them had finished eating, Chase looked back and forth between the two teenagers and said, “Perhaps you had better tell us your tale now.”

Jack rolled his eyes up to the sky, noting how the black of the night sky was beginning to lighten to indigo around the edges. “It’s almost dawn!” he protested.

“This matters how?”

Groaning, Jack buried his head in his arms.

“I shall begin,” said Omi, taking up the slack. “Chase Young, you—“

But Chase interrupted. “What did you call me?”

Omi frowned. “Chase Young. It is your name.”

The older man scowled and shook his head. “That is not my name. I am Lóng Junjie.”

“Handsome and Outstanding Dragon? That works,” Jack said with a smirk, and was surprised when Chase – or Junjie, rather – smirked back at him.

“Very well. With your permission, I shall call you Junjie,” said Omi. “Fifteen-hundred years from now, you – who are known in our time as Chase Young – are one of the most powerful forces of evil in the world. You periodically consume a potion in order to stay young and strong forever, and in doing so, you have the ability to change shape – to transform into a large, powerful, upright-walking lizard.”

“You’re a walking, talking, humanoid dragon,” interrupted Jack. “Which fits, because the potion you drink is basically dragon juice.”

Junjie silently worked the word ‘humanoid’ around in his mind and figured it meant ‘resembling a human’.

“Why would I subject myself to such an existence?” he asked, his tone doubtful.

“Because you can only be the best if you’re around long enough to prove it,” said Jack. “After fifteen-hundred years, you’ve earned a reputation as the Prince of Evil.”

“Oh? What would that make you?” Junjie asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Eh… I’m still only a minor player,” Jack grimaced. “I’m, like, the Prince of Insufficient Light.”

“Jack failed in his single attempt to be Good and he messes up nearly every time he commits Evil,” Omi offered, and ducked the sand Jack threw at his head.

“If that is so, then why should I believe you?” Junjie asked.

“Omi is on the side of Good,” Jack snarled. “If you can’t accept that you-then sent me back to talk to you-now, then maybe you’ll listen to Mini-Monk; he’s got more to lose if you turn Evil as planned.”

Omi gave Jack a scowl and the taller youth sneered at him.

“Perhaps you should tell us how this happens,” Guan opined calmly.

Jack and Omi exchanged hesitant glances.

“I am not certain that is the wisest course of action,” said Omi.

Jack nodded. “It’s one of the unwritten rules of time travel – don’t tell the people in the past too much of the future, or you just might end up re-writing the future by accident.”

“But isn’t that what you’re trying to do?” Guan asked.

“Neither one of us wants to be responsible for achieving the opposite of our given missions,” Jack said with a shrug. “If I tell you what happens, it could end up that Chase – sorry, Junjie – does the exact opposite and stays Good. Or if Twinkie—ow! Okay, okay! If _Omi_ tells you, then it might end up that he’s the one that made you be Evil, which would mean the future is all _his_ fault. The idea of it makes me want to laugh, but there it is.”

“Then how do you intend to accomplish your missions?”

“We hang around Junjie until the Moment arrives,” Jack replied.

“’Hang around’?”

Omi sighed and shook his head. “In our time, we have a rather informal way of talking that is called ‘slang’.”

“If there’s one thing you _can’t_ accomplish, it’s learning how to use it properly,” Jack sniped.

“If there is only one thing out of several hundred things, then I am victorious in the competition!”

“That’s ‘winning the game’, bonehead!” Jack yelled, then sighed and facepalmed before gesturing at Omi and saying, “See? See? This is what I’m talking about! You make everyone wall-eyed crazy trying to translate your sentences!”

Omi pouted and crossed his arms over his chest.

“So, what does ‘hang around’ mean?” Junjie asked quietly, still processing the information he’d been given so far.

“Uh… stay nearby,” Jack replied, giving the simplest literal translation.

“Your plan, then, is to stay close to me?”

Both Omi and Jack nodded.

Junjie sighed. “If you must.”

Guan reached out and lightly touched the other man’s arm. “My friend – do you not wish to avoid this transformation?”

“Yes… of course I do!” Junjie replied, offering a smile to Guan. “It is difficult to accept that I am capable of such evil.”

“We all have the capacity for evil as we all have the capacity for good, which leaves us faced with a choice; what we do with that choice is what determines us,” Guan murmured.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Jack sniped, and then yawned. “Do _any_ of you Do-Gooders _ever_ sleep?”

“We do, but why would we do so now? The sun is up!” Guan replied with a smile, gesturing towards the luminous disc rising into the sky.

Jack sighed and buried his head in his arms.


	5. Time Lords Say, "Go Ahead: Make My Yesterday."

Jack slumped wearily as he followed behind Junjie and Guan. Omi, of course, was choosing to keep him company.

“Are you _still_ pouting because of your lack of sleep?” Omi asked, looking up at Jack.

“No,” growled Jack, “I’m pouting because of my lack of sleep, my lack of caffeine, my lack of robots, and my _abundance_ of blisters!”

Omi glanced down, then, and noticed that Jack was limping slightly and tsked. “You are in very sad shape for someone who wishes to take over the world, Jack Spicer.”

Jack whirled, reaching for the yellow annoyance, but Omi had skittered out of range.

“Are you two fighting _again?_ ” Junjie asked, and the two youths looked up to see him looking back over his shoulder at them.

“What fighting? Jack cannot fight, only lose,” Omi replied with a smile, and then squeaked when Jack succeeded in knocking him over.

“Now, Spicer, be nice,” the would-be evil everlord chided.

“This _is_ being nice,” Jack growled.

“What are you the rest of the time?”

“Heavily armed, easily bored, and off my medication!”

Junjie blinked. “Off your _what?_ ”

Jack sighed. “It was a joke, and one that doesn’t work well in a primitive time and place.”

Junjie and Omi frowned.

“This time and place are hardly primitive!” Omi said hotly. “The people—“

“Compared to _our_ time,” Jack amended, grimacing.

“An unfair comparison given that we, here and now, do not know what _your_ time is like,” Guan commented.

“Wait long enough; it’ll happen. Can we drop the subject, please?”

Junjie frowned. Shortening his stride, he soon fell into step beside Jack and gestured to Omi to walk ahead with Guan. Casting a wary gaze between the two, Omi did as the older man wished and joined the tall, muscular monk.

Jack looked nervously at the man walking beside him. Junjie took notice.

Flashing a smile, he said calmly, “Do not look at me as though I am about to bite your head off, Spicer.”

“If only I could believe that,” Jack grumbled, and then asked, “Why don’t you call me ‘Jack’?”

“’Spicer’ is easier to pronounce. The combination of sounds isn’t so strange.”

“Hmm. Whatever floats your boat, then.”

Junjie grinned. “You are an entertaining young man, Spicer. You say things that make sense to you; that are clearly connected to the future you are from. I admit I am curious to know what is waiting fifteen-hundred years from now.”

“Guess you’ll just have to stick around and find out,” Jack replied with a smirk.

The older man snorted and wagged a finger as he said, “If your mission is to lead me to the dark side, you’ll have to try harder than that.”

Jack raised an eyebrow, then reached into an inner pocket and pulled out a thin, flat plastic binder, about the size of a standard envelope, and handed it over to Junjie. The man accepted it, his eyebrows high on his face. He turned the strange object over and over, examining the new thing.

“What is this?” he asked, curious.

“What are you referring to specifically?”

“The material,” Junjie replied, amazed at the flexibility of the object as he bent it into a curve.

“It’s called ‘plastic’; more durable than wood, stone, or glass. But it’s what’s inside that’s the real kicker.”

Junjie raised an eyebrow, but dutifully opened the strange object and blinked. It appeared to be images of people, and he quickly deduced that he was holding the object upside down. He righted it and then gaped at the sight of himself and various others.

He recognized Omi and Jack, but there were other people in the images that he did not know. Still, the fact that the images were there – and amazingly life-like, too – gave him pause.

“What sort of magic…?” he whispered.

“In my time, there are devices called ‘cameras’ that will record images of people onto material called ‘film’. Depending on the device, the recorded images are only for a split second of time, or last for hours and even _move_. These images are the split-second variety – they won’t move, but they were captured at a specific moment in time.”

“You – you captured my _soul?_ ” Junjie asked with a gulp.

Jack came very close to saying that wasn’t likely because Chase Young didn’t _have_ a soul, but fought back the urge just in time. Instead, he said, “No, souls aren’t involved. It’s just a surface reflection, like in a puddle of water. Only the ‘water’ in this case is the ‘film’ and the reflection is frozen while the real person goes on about his or her life.”

“I look so… different,” Junjie remarked, tracing one finger lightly over the cruelly-smiling visage of his future self. “And yet, I am as young then as I am now.”

Jack took a closer look at Junjie. Every time he did so, the differences between Chase-from-the-Past and Chase-from-the-Future shocked him anew.

“I guess the ears and the eyes were changed when you started drinking the youth serum,” Jack said with a shrug. “I have no idea when you started wearing the black and the armor. For the record, it’s a good look for you.”

Junjie blinked again, and then muttered, “Yes. I am not – unattractive.”

Jack laughed. “Let’s just say your mother knew what she was talking about when she named you.”

At that, the older man smirked, pleased. He handed the image-booklet back to Jack, who tucked it into an inside pocket of his jacket. He looked carefully at the youth for a long moment, then said, “I have never seen one such as you before.”

“I don’t doubt it. There probably aren’t many goths roaming around these parts.”

“Is that what you are? A ‘Goth’?”

“Mmm-hmmm.”

“Is a Goth some sort of demon? Is that why you have white skin?”

Jack frowned. “No, goths aren’t demons. Being a goth is choosing a lifestyle different from that of societal standard. We like to dress in black and look different from what we call ‘mundanes’ – people who are really boring and normal. Goths are necromancers.”

Junjie’s eyes widened. “You call forth the spirits of the dead?”

Jack blinked. “Uh… no. No, not really.”

“Then why do you claim to be a necromancer?”

“Because it sounds cool, alright?!”

“’Cool’?”

“Gah! Um… ‘cool’ is slang for ‘most excellent’.”

“Ah.”

“Right, so we’re basically vegetarians pretending to be vampires. Nothing wrong with that.”

“You choose to discolor your skin in order to make yourself readily identifiable?”

Jack sighed. “A lot of other goths do. In my case… I was born with it.”

“Then, you _are_ a magical being?”

The younger man laughed. “Not unless I’m using Shen-Gong-Wu. No, my skin is this color because I was born with a medical condition known, in my time, as albinism. I’m an albino. My hair is actually white, like my skin, but I used colorful minerals to make it the color you see now and used liquid kohl to make the marks around my eyes to make people think I chose to be this color on purpose.”

“Why?”

“People are less inclined to feel sorry for your freakishness if they think you did it deliberately.”

“You are hiding in plain sight, then.”

Jack grinned and nodded. “Exactly.”

Junjie was silent for a moment. Then, he grinned and said, “I like your coloring, Spicer.”

Jack was unable to help himself – he blushed.

Junjie watched, intrigued, as a delicate pink color spread over the white-as-snow cheeks. Slowly, he reached out with one finger and, when Jack stopped walking to stare at him in surprise, he very lightly traced the pink skin with the tip of his finger.

“What are you doing?” Jack asked quietly, startled.

“I am fascinated,” Junjie said simply, and gently trailed his finger over the bridge of Jack’s nose, feeling the delicate framework of bone and cartilage beneath the younger man’s translucent skin.

Jack shivered and stepped back, deliberately breaking the contact between them. “Don’t do that,” he said, his voice tense with irritation.

“Did I hurt you?” Junjie asked, concerned.

“No – I just don’t like being touched.”

“I did not touch you with the intent to hurt you.”

“I don’t care. Stop touching me.”

Junjie frowned. “Do I not touch you in the future?”

Jack’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

“You said that I am the one who sent you back to this time. Clearly, you and I interact with each other. Do I not touch you?”

“Why on earth would you think you touch me?” asked Jack, his tone incredulous.

“I happen to enjoy being with attractive people; you are very attractive. I cannot believe I am foolish enough to pass up the opportunity to be with you.”

Jack was certain that if his eyes went any wider, they’d fall out of his head. “You – you think I’m – oh, man.”

Junjie’s frown deepened. “Apparently, I _am_ that foolish.”

Jack had no idea what to say to that remark.

“Junjie.”

They both turned their heads at the sound of Guan’s voice and saw him and Omi standing only a few feet away, watching them closely.

“Is everything well?” Guan asked curiously.

Junjie nodded shortly and said, “I was merely talking with Spicer about the future.”

Guan’s expression was solemn, but he bowed his head in acceptance.

Eager to change the subject, Jack asked, “So, where are we going, again?”

“There is a village nearby,” Junjie explained. “An old friend to Guan and myself lives there. We had thought to stop at his home for a real dinner and to catch up on any recent news.”

“I am up with that!” Omi burbled with a grin.

Jack facepalmed. “’Down’. You’re supposed to say ‘I’m _down_ with that’.”

Omi blinked. “That does not make any sense.”

“You frequently don’t,” Jack sniped.

Guan and Junjie sighed and shook their heads, then began walking; leaving the two youths to catch up, which they quickly did.


	6. I Know Karate, Kung Fu, and 47 Other Dangerous Words

They heard the din of the battle before they saw it.

Guan and Junjie immediately told Omi and Jack to stay behind; to stay hidden in the nearby crop field and then ran towards the village that was apparently in a great deal of distress.

Omi and Jack looked at each other for a moment. Then, Omi pulled the Monkey Staff out of its hiding place and handed it to Jack, who accepted it with a confused look.

“Where do you _hide_ these things?” he demanded to know as he watched Omi pull out the Orb of Tornami.

“They are Shen-Gong-Wu and that is all you need to know,” Omi said, before he went racing in the direction of the village.

Jack sighed and shook his head. “Shen-Gong-Wu Space: When pockets just aren’t enough.”

Then, he activated the Monkey Staff and, screeching and hollering, took off after the other three men.

He quickly caught up with Omi, who admonished him to be quiet, and they paused at the edge of town behind a hay cart that was safely away from the flames spreading through the village.

“I will put out the fires,” said Omi. “You sneak about and try to upset the attackers whenever possible; put them off their balance so they will be easier to defeat.”

“Who died and made you a general?” Jack groused, but nevertheless, he gripped the Monkey Staff tighter with his tail and flexed his muscles, preparing to join the fight.

“Let’s go!” Omi shouted, and he ran under the hay cart to get clear of it, and then leaped hard and high into the air to begin dousing the flames with the Orb of Tornami.

Jack sighed as he watched the smaller youth go. _I can’t believe I’m about to do this,_ he grumbled to himself. He ducked when two of the attackers looked towards the hay cart; when it became clear they thought no one was there and turned their backs on him, Jack grinned wickedly and went leaping over to the two bad guys. He landed hard on them, shrieked loudly in their ears, and went leaping away towards a mud puddle. Seeing the villains already getting up and heading his way, he scooped up two handfuls of mud and flung them with surprising accuracy; the mud splattered into the men’s faces, getting into their eyes and clogging their noses and mouths.

A moment later, another one of the attackers was hurled into the two mud-covered men with enough force to send them all flying and knocking them unconscious.

Jack looked over to see Junjie standing nearby, staring at him in surprise. Monkey-Jack let out a laughing screech, gave the other man a thumbs-up, and then loped further into the village to see what else he could accomplish.

Jack worked swiftly and sneakily – two things he was very good at when he wanted to be. He would hide in whatever shadows were available and then ambush the Bad Guys with whatever was available. By the time he was done with them, they’d be so confused and off-balance that they were easy pickings for either Junjie or Guan or Omi, who’d finished his task of dousing the fires and had then turned his attention to the villains.

Loping towards the center of the village, Jack was intent on getting to Junjie when he felt something grab his tail and pull; hard enough to cause him a lot of pain and he screamed loudly. The scream went from a monkey’s howl to a normal human’s when whatever had grabbed him managed to get the Monkey Staff away from him.

Falling to the ground, Jack rolled over and found a soaking wet, soot-smudged, incredibly cranky villain standing over him, holding the Monkey Staff and giving it an incredulous look. Then the man glanced down, saw him, and smiled cruelly.

Tossing aside the Monkey Staff, the villain reached down for him swiftly. Jack yelped and tried to scramble away, but the man caught him by the waist, his fingers pinching hard. Jack groaned and then began scrabbling at the man’s hands, scratching the skin as he tried to make the man let go, but the man only laughed at his struggles.

Irritated, Jack drew back his right arm, tensed, and then swung – cracking his fist across the man’s jaw as hard as he could. His knuckles instantly bruised, turning a dusky purple color.

The man stopped laughing and looked down at Jack furiously. Then he drew back his own right hand and slapped Jack viciously hard, then again, and a third time.

Jack became dizzy with the pain of the hard-handed strikes to his face, but when he felt himself lifted up and slung over a shoulder, he decided he’d better do something and started kicking and struggling as he hollered at the top of his lungs. He started hammering with his fists, looking for vulnerable spots. He was just about to start biting as hard as he could, but then he and his attacker were sent flying as something slammed into the man holding him with brutal force.

The two of them landed with a squelchy plop in the muck of a nearby pig-pen after crashing through the wooden fence that normally kept the pigs inside. Jack skidded through the churned up muck to crash into the trough, which rocked on its base and then tipped over and splattered him with the slop that’d been fed to the pigs only a little while ago and not finished.

Jack gagged and shook himself as he tried to struggle upright. He heard yells and thuds and looked over, wide-eyed, to see a very angry Junjie mixing it up with the man who’d grabbed him. Deciding that he didn’t need to be up quite that badly, Jack hunkered down into the muck and pulled the up-ended trough over him for shelter; knowing he’d never be able to pull himself free of the muck and run fast enough to get out of the way.

He watched as Junjie systematically beat the other man senseless with vicious strikes. Soon enough, the villain was lying face-up in the muck and not moving, and Junjie was standing over him, looking down at the man with a brutal expression on his face.

Jack, deciding that he was as safe as could be, pushed the trough off of himself and began attempting to wriggle free of the muck.

Junjie looked over at the struggling youth and the nastiness faded from his expression. He walked over to Jack, moving easily, and extended his hand.

Jack glanced up at the hand offered to him, then down at his own, and lifted his palm to show that it was encased in icky stuff while he looked up at the other man.

Junjie smirked and grabbed Jack’s hand anyway, hauling the youth up out of the mud and slime.

Gasping, Jack tensed and it made him slip, but an arm was swiftly wrapped around his waist and he found himself steadied against Junjie’s body. Wide-eyed, he looked into amused gold eyes and felt himself blushing.

“Ahem.”

Junjie turned, still holding onto Jack, so the younger man was pulled around with him. They saw Guan and Omi standing on the other side of the demolished fence, looking at them. Omi held the Monkey Staff and the Orb of Tornami.

Junjie grinned easily. “The battle is finished?”

Guan smiled back. “The battle is finished. All that remains is repairing the damage.”

“Which isn’t as bad as it could have been, thanks to this young man’s efforts,” said a new voice, and everyone turned to see an elderly man on a cane approaching slowly, pointing to Omi.

“Chang Liu,” Guan said with a smile and a bow. “It is good to see you, my friend.”

Liu smiled back and bowed his head. “As it is to see you, Guan – and you, Junjie.”

Junjie nodded with a grin, but didn’t release Jack.

“Who are your new friends?” Liu asked, curious.

Omi bowed to the elderly man. “I am Omi, a monk from the Xiaolin Temple.”

Liu nodded and then looked to Jack.

“Jack Spicer. I’m… not from around here,” Jack said, and began pushing against Junjie to make the older man let go of him.

Liu blinked. “That is obvious with a name like that.”

Jack scowled. “It’s what my mother named me.”

“I’m sure she knew what she was doing,” Liu replied, watching as Junjie finally let go of Jack, though his hand hovered nearby to provide assistance should Jack need it.

“I’ll be sure to tell her,” Jack grumbled.

“In the meantime, there is a village to set to rights. I will see about preparing supper,” Liu said. “Mine was one of the few homes not excessively damaged.”

Guan, Junjie, and Omi bowed their thanks while Jack inspected his soggy, nasty clothes and grimaced. Liu, deciding not to call the strange foreigner on his manners, turned and slowly walked away.

Jack flapped his arms and whined a bit as he said, “Man… this is _beyond_ gross!”

The three warriors ignored him as Guan said, “Well, let us get busy.”

That caught Jack’s attention. “Doing what?”

“We are here and we were involved in the battle,” explained Omi. “It is only right that we help repair the damages.”

Jack sneered. “So what’s your excuse when you and your buddies run home to the Temple after you crash your way into my home?”  
Omi smirked at him. “Those aren’t battles, Jack Spicer – going up against you, they never are.”

In that moment, Jack wished more than ever that Chase had vetoed him taking any technology with him. One shot from the new laser pistol he’d developed would have smote that smirking little snotwad out of existence for sure!

Rather than take the opening for a fight handed to him, he instead growled, “Do I _look_ like a menial laborer?”

Junjie frowned. “You look and sound like a spoiled child. You cannot seriously mean to sit back and let others do the work, and then partake of their hospitality?”

Jack was surprised to feel a skirl of shame sweep through him and he shifted restlessly.

“Jack Spicer may not have martial arts skills but he _is_ one of the most skilled craftsmen of our time!” Omi said with a grin, knowing precisely what he was doing. “He can create devices that anyone would believe impossible to make; he is very skilled with his hands.”

Wanting to preen because of the praise and smack the smaller youth at the same time, Jack sighed and said, “That’s because I’m a Master of _Robotics_ , Cheeseball – not _carpentry!_ If it has an engine and an interface, I can fly it, drive it, or program it. Wood-working is out of my league.”

“But—“ Omi sputtered.

“Besides,” Jack continued, crossing his arms over his chest, “as Ford Prefect once said: ‘I have a malformed public duty gland and a natural deficiency in moral fiber’ – which means that _I_ , therefore, am excused from aiding a community.”

“If that is so, then why did you participate in the battle?” Guan asked.

Jack blinked, thought for a moment, and then said, “I have no idea.”

“Perhaps your ‘public duty gland’ is not as malformed as you thought,” Junjie suggested with a smirk, “never minding what the Ford person had to say about it.”

Jack gave the older man an irritated glower. Then he sighed and shook his head. “All right, all right! I can’t promise that whatever I work on will look decent, but if it gets the three of you _off_ my back, then it’s worth it.”

All three warriors grinned smugly and Jack longed for one of his Jack-bots, just so he could order the robot to blast those smiles off the warriors’ faces. Grumbling under his breath, he slogged out of the pig pen and began stomping off towards one of the damaged homes.

“Jack Spicer!” Omi called out, and Jack turned to face the little monk, scowling.

His eyes widened and he brought his hands up in an ineffectual attempt to block the incoming stream of water from the Orb of Tornami. He was knocked off his feet and fetched up against the side of a nearby home, coughing and sputtering as Omi turned off the Orb.

“There: now you are not covered in muck!” Omi burbled, his smile huge while Guan and Junjie looked on.

Jack slicked back his sopping wet hair and aimed a vicious glare at Omi. “I hate you,” he spat as he got back up on his feet.

Omi had the nerve to look genuinely hurt by those words.

Jack turned his back on the three of them and walked away.


	7. I've had Fun Before – This Isn't It

Jack groaned as he slumped his way down to the nearby river.

After helping to restore the village back to livable decency – and he’d been lying his butt off when he’d claimed he didn’t have the knack for carpentry – Jack was fairly certain that he was going to fail in his mission, because he’d never again be able to move on his own power, which would make following Junjie around a bit difficult.

He’d worked diligently to get homes restored; salvaging whatever he was able to and re-using it, and trashing whatever couldn’t be saved. He’d been followed around by a group of children who’d been fascinated by his coloring, yet were too shy to actually approach him. He’d given them quite a few irritated looks, but they hadn’t taken the hint and continued to follow him around until their mothers had finally collected them because it was time for dinner and bed.

Night had fallen and the moon was full overhead when the last of the repairs were completed. He’d stood for a moment, looking around in tired confusion, wondering where Chang Liu’s home was. It was then that Guan had appeared out of nowhere to hand him a rough towel, a pile of clothing, and a bar of soap and ordered him to go to the river to bathe himself and wash his clothes.

Too tired to argue, Jack had accepted the items and followed orders, trudging away tiredly.

Once at the river, he looked around and saw that the villagers had created a shallow wading area for swimming and bathing. Sighing and stretching, Jack dropped the items he’d been given and stripped off his crusty clothing – all of it, because even his boxers were icky – and tossed them down beside the water’s edge for cleaning later.

Naked, he then grabbed up the soap and waded into the shallow pool, wincing at the coolness of the water. Nevertheless, shivering, he squatted down and splashed water up over his head and let it sluice down his body. Once he was wet enough, he scrubbed the soap into his hair, getting as much lather as he could; there was nothing he hated more than dirty hair. He washed his hair three times before he decided it was clean and then turned his attention to the rest of his body.

Finally, with most of the soap bar lathered away, Jack decided he was clean enough, and so he tossed the soap onto the nearby grass and then cupped his hands, scooping up water to pour it over his skin to rinse himself off. When he was done, stood up straight and looked up at the moon for a bit, enjoying the clear, beautiful glow of the moonlight.

This was how Junjie found him when the young warrior arrived at the river to see what was taking so long.

 

*~*~*

 

Chang sniffed deeply and grinned with satisfaction. “Ah, I do believe supper is ready.”

“I cannot wait – it smells delicious!” Omi said happily from his seat by the table.

“Young Omi is correct,” said Guan. “Apparently, your cooking skills have improved, Liu.”

Liu turned and shook the wooden spoon he held at Guan. “Hah! You weren’t complaining the last few times you made yourself fat on my food!”

Guan said nothing; merely gave a grin that was mostly teeth.

Junjie stood from where he’d been meditating, his blue clothing rustling softly with his movements. “Spicer is still down by the river, isn’t he?”

Guan nodded. “Presumably that is where he is. It’s the direction he was going after I spoke to him.”

“Perhaps you’d best go check on him,” Liu suggested. “After what nearly happened earlier…”

Junjie’s face darkened with a frown. “Yes… I think perhaps you are correct, my friend.” With that, he swiftly exited the house.

The moonlight lit the way clearly. As he passed through the outskirts of the village, a few people were outside and they watched him pass. Junjie ignored them when they did not call out to him. He wanted to make certain Spicer was all right and had not been abducted as he nearly was earlier.

Following the well-worn path out of the village and down the gently sloping hill towards the river, Junjie kept his senses open for trouble, but sensed nothing.

Finally, he arrived at the bathing area and came to a halt, staring wide-eyed at the being before him.

Jack Spicer was standing knee deep in the water, his head tipped slightly back, and completely naked; covered only in the fresh night air and the light of the full moon overhead.

Abruptly, the youth turned, and Junjie realized belatedly that he’d made some small sound in his throat that had apparently startled Spicer by alerting him to his presence.

“Hey!” Spicer yelped, and quickly covered himself with his hands even as he blushed fiercely. “Do you _mind?_ ”

“No,” Junjie said softly, and walked forward a few steps, until he stood right at the water’s edge. “I don’t mind at all.”

Jack scowled at Junjie and kept his hands protectively cupped over his genitals.

“Right, there’s this thing called ‘personal space’,” he said tightly. “When you start invading my privacy, you’re violating my personal space.”

Junjie blinked, startled. “I am sorry; I had no idea I was hurting you. I simply… By all the hundred little gods, Spicer, you are beautiful.”

Jack felt his blush intensify and his skin ripple with goose-chills. Gritting his teeth, he growled, “You’re not _hurting_ me – I just don’t see the need for you to be _looking_ at me while I’m _naked_.”

The older man smiled. “Perhaps there is no need, but I find it pleasurable.”

“I _don’t_. I’m wet, I’m cold, and I still have to wash my clothes.”

“No one is stopping you,” Junjie invited.

“Yes, you are.”

Junjie frowned. “I will not touch you, Spicer. I will not hurt you.”

“I’m sure you believe that. Look… why are you here, anyway?” Jack asked plaintively.

“Supper is ready. I came to find you to make sure you hadn’t been abducted, as you nearly were earlier today.”

Jack blinked. “He was trying to kidnap me?”

“I do not know this ‘kidnap’. He was trying to escape with you.”

“That’d be the same thing. But why?”

“Why?” Junjie was incredulous. “Are you – do you not realize what he intended to do to you?”

Jack _wasn’t_ stupid. In the span of a heartbeat, he understood what the older man meant, and his blush faded rapidly as his eyes went wide.

“He… he was going to… but _why?_ ” Jack asked, his voice cracking.

Junjie sighed and shook his head. “You are not aware of your attractiveness, are you? No, don’t bother answering; the answer is clear enough. Suffice it to say, your uniqueness makes you exceedingly desirable.”

Jack groaned. “Terrific – yet another reason to wish I weren’t a freak.”

“What does ‘freak’ mean?”

“Abnormal. Not standard. Weird. Ugly. Unattractive.”

Junjie frowned. “But you are not a freak.”

Jack sighed. “Can we just… agree to disagree?”

“For now.”

“Turn around so I can get out of here.”

Junjie turned and walked a few steps away. He halted there, crossing his arms over his chest, alert to every tiny sound. He could hear the water sloshing as Jack made his way up onto the ground, but he didn’t move.

Moving quickly, Jack dried off as best he could and got dressed. Taking up what was left of the soap, he then did his best at washing his clothes and wishing he’d thought to bring extras with him. True, he had the Sands of Time with him, and could presumably go home to get fresh clothes of his own, but he _had_ to stay close to Junjie until Hannibal Roy Bean arrived.

Rinsing away the last of the soap, Jack pulled his clothes from the river and wrung the excess water out, and then he gathered the towel and his boots, and said, “I’m done; let’s go.”

Junjie turned to look at him and then gestured for Jack to precede him.

With a shivery feeling, Jack did so.

The two of them walked up the path together. After a moment, Jack glanced over and said, “So… that’s why you looked so angry?”

Junjie gave him a questioning look.

“When you were beating that guy up,” Jack clarified. “You looked angry.”

“I _was_ angry,” said Junjie simply.

Jack didn’t know what to say to that and so said nothing at all.


	8. Mornings Are a Delusion of the Planetbound

Junjie crouched for a moment by the sleeping pile of youngster, watching Jack and Omi sleep.

Spicer had been tired enough that he’d actually fallen asleep while eating his dinner. Omi had pulled out his Orb of Tornami, but Guan had taken it from him with a shake of his head while Junjie had shaken Spicer awake enough to get him to finish chewing the mouthful he’d had. Once that was done, Spicer had promptly fallen asleep again, and Junjie had scooped the young man up into his arms and carried him a few feet away to the pile of bedding by the small hearth. Upon being settled on the bedding, Spicer had curled up and snuggled under the light blanket Junjie had dropped over him.

Omi had joined Spicer soon enough after helping to clean the dishes. He’d apologized for Spicer’s bad manners, but Liu Chang had waved off the apology, stating that it was obvious the strange white boy had been pushed past his limits.

Now, Junjie looked at the two youths curled together in sleep. They had started out separated by several inches of distance. Currently, they were snuggled close together in their blanket, sharing body warmth. It was quite the cute image and Junjie was reluctant to disturb them, but the sun was rising higher in the sky.

Finally, Junjie reached out and lightly touched Omi’s shoulder. As expected, the little yellow monk was instantly awake, his body subtly tensing though he did not move overtly and his eyes remained closed.

“Good morning, little monk,” Junjie murmured. “The sun is up.”

Omi relaxed enough to let out a yawn and he rolled away from Jack, sat up, and stretched luxuriously. When he was done, he smiled sleepily up at the older man and said, “Then it is time for us to be up as well.”

Junjie smiled and nodded.

Omi glanced over at the still snoozing Jack and sighed. “I do not look forward to waking Jack Spicer, however. He is most definitely not a morning person.”

“Leave that to me, little one,” Junjie offered. “Liu is making breakfast. I had thought the four of us could get in some stretching before eating.”

Omi giggled. “Jack Spicer doesn’t stretch. He is a lazy-bones of the highest order!”

“Perhaps it is time he learned how,” Junjie said affably. “Go; let me wake him up.”

Omi sighed and nodded. He easily got up onto his feet, paused to neatly fold the blanket, and then exited Chang Liu’s home to go find Guan.

Junjie waited until the little monk was gone, and then turned his attention to Spicer. Reaching out, he gently slid his hand over the youth’s wildly tousled hair, stroking the vibrantly colored strands away from Spicer’s face. He continued doing this and a few moments later, Jack hummed contentedly and shifted a bit.

“Spicer,” Junjie said quietly, but firmly. When the youth gave no sign of having heard him, he said Jack’s name again, and then again. Finally, he resorted to shaking Jack by the shoulder while calling his name.

Jack snorted as he came awake and pushed feebly at the hand on his shoulder. “Mmmph… g’way,” he muttered hoarsely, his eyes still closed.

“Spicer, it is time to wake up,” Junjie informed him.

Jack floated in a haze of calm; in that place between asleep and awake. When the hand once again began to stroke his hair, he hummed happily again as his entire body tingled with tactile pleasure.

“Spicer, you must wake up now,” Junjie said, still petting the youth’s hair.

“Why?” Jack mumbled sleepily, eyes still closed.

“It is morning. The sun has risen and so must you.”

Jack groaned. “Who the hell let the morning people run things?”

Junjie snickered. “The early bird beats late risers to the worm.”

“Yeah, but he’s working for the guy that owns the worm farm and gets to sleep late while still turning a profit,” Jack replied drowsily.

The older man blinked. “That… makes sense, strangely enough.”

Jack opened one eye and smirked up at Junjie.

“We must be leaving soon. Get up and join Guan, Omi, and I for some stretching exercises. Then, we can eat breakfast, clean up, and be off,” Junjie said.

“Go where?”

“Wherever we need to be.”

“Don’t go all mystic-cynical on me. It’s too early and I haven’t had any coffee.”

“What is coffee?”

“A miracle for those of us who don’t want to be awake this early. Technically, it’s a hot beverage full of something we call caffeine that gives people an energy surge.”

Junjie smiled. “Would tea be an adequate substitute?”

“If there’s enough sugar in it.”

The older man chuckled and shook his head. “You are determined to be stubborn, aren’t you?”

“It’s what I do,” Jack said with a smirk. He pushed himself upright, groaning softly as his body protested the movement.

He stretched vigorously, his arms over his head and his body straining as his head tipped back, wincing at the pull on aching muscles. When he was finished, he slumped again and yawned, and then noticed Junjie was looking a few inches down. Curious, Jack looked down as well and saw that the tunic he’d been loaned the night before had come undone sometime during the night and was gaping open, showing off quite a bit of his chest.

Blushing, he pulled the tunic closed and scowled at Junjie.

Junjie smirked and said, “You might as well get used to it. We will be stretching with our tunics off.”

“What makes you think I’m going to exercise?” Jack snapped.

“You will if you want to get the stiffness out of your muscles or you will be hurting worse later on as we journey.”

Jack sighed. “I cannot _wait_ for you to turn evil – you’re entirely too perky.”

“Jack Spicer!” Omi shouted as he came running into the room. “Stop lazing about! There is much to do and less time to do it in!”

Jack gave the little monk a peevish look and snarled, “I don’t know what your problem is, but I bet it’s hard to pronounce.”

“There is _nothing_ wrong with me!” Omi stated with a grin. “I am the pinnacle of Xiaolin training!”

“Does that include the super-sized _ego?_ ”

“I have more humility in my little finger than you have in your _whole body!_ ” Omi snapped, pointing a finger at him.

“So says the humble Twinkie,” sneered Jack.

Omi hissed like an outraged cat and leaped for the other teenager.

Junjie caught Omi in mid-flight and tucked him under his left arm, neatly propping the agitated monk on his left hip. Then, he grabbed a laughing Jack around the youth’s waist and stood quickly, causing Jack to gasp as he draped limply from his new perch on Junjie’s right hip.

“Oh, yeah – _this_ is dignified,” Jack groused. His knuckles and toes dragged painfully on the ground.

“My patience is not limitless,” Junjie informed them both. “You _will_ join us, Spicer – and the both of you will _stop_ baiting each other.”

“He started it,” both teenagers pouted, then glared and stuck their tongues out at each other.

Junjie sighed and carried the both of them outside.

 

*~*~*

 

Jack was pretty sure he’d been more embarrassed at some point in his life, but at the moment, he couldn’t recall when.

An audience had gathered to watch as he was put through the paces of various stretches and meditation poses. The more people that gathered, the more flustered he became, which led to Junjie touching him to correct the placement of his limbs and body, which led to him being even more flustered.

Thankfully, Omi seemed to have developed a sense of tact sometime in the last fifteen minutes and refrained from making any comments to him whatsoever. Jack was fairly certain either Guan or Junjie had taken a moment to order the little monk silent, but he would take whatever respite he could get.

He was also forced to admit that Junjie had been correct; his body was moving better thanks to the stretches he was being put through. He felt less stiff and inflexible, at any rate.

Just then, Junjie stepped up close behind him to position his arms outward at shoulder-height, and Jack felt the other man’s warm, bare skin pressed against the length of his own back, and stumbled. When he heard the tittering laughter of the onlookers, he felt his face flame in embarrassment. Without sparing a glance for the onlookers, or the man who had unintentionally helped feed their laughter, Jack wrenched his arms free of Junjie’s grip, turned on his heel, and started to walk away.

He was caught before he could get more than three steps. He stiffened as Junjie’s arms – wrapped around his waist – kept him in place against the other man’s body. When he felt Junjie’s mouth at his right ear, he shivered hard.

“Pay no attention to them,” Junjie murmured. “They are not important. All that is important is your own body and what it is telling you.”

“Right now, it’s telling me that you need to let go of me,” Jack replied through gritted teeth.

“Not until I am certain you are not going to give in to a childish pout. You said you do not wish to be regarded as a boy. Now is your chance to prove that claim.”

Jack swallowed hard. “All right, fine! Anything – just let _go_ of me!”

Frowning, Junjie did so. “Your fear of being touched concerns me greatly, Spicer.”

“It’s less the touching and more the fact that it’s _you_ ,” Jack growled, twitching as he turned, side-stepped around Junjie, and stalked back over to where Omi and Guan stood waiting.

Junjie scowled as he felt the sting of the words. As if to prove the point, he watched as Guan smiled at Spicer, causing the youth to blush. Guan reached out to ruffle Spicer’s hair and though Spicer ducked a bit, he allowed the touch without complaint.

Junjie hissed softly under his breath, but he made no further comment as he rejoined the others.

Omi, who had been watching silently, saw the quick flash of anger and jealousy cross Junjie’s face, and worried that his mission was in jeopardy. He knew he had to wait until he was more certain, however, or he might cause the disastrous mess that was the future.

Guan also noticed Junjie’s apparent displeasure and he offered a charming smile to his friend and was confused when his efforts were met with cool indifference. Confused, he returned to his own exercises and determined to talk to Junjie later.


	9. We Must Be Devious, Cunning, Inventive... Too Bad We're Us

“Stop griping, Jack Spicer – walking is simple.”

Jack sneered at Omi. “Of course it is. That doesn’t make it any less _boring_ , though!”

Omi, about to retort, paused. Finally, he said, “Yes… what you say is true. But walking _does_ enable us to see what we would ordinarily miss. Do you not truly see the vibrancy of the blue sky? Feel the warmth of the sun? Feel the breeze? Smell the grass and wildflowers?”

“Yes, I can see and feel all that – and I’ll see it and feel it more when the sun _kills_ me,” Jack bitched. “I’m an _albino_ , Captain _Oblivious_. It means I’m _sensitive_ to light! That’s why I’m covered up and why I’m wearing these goggles!”

Omi blinked. “It is not simply a bad fashion choice?”

Jack clenched his jaw. “Y’know, it’s difficult to think of you as the end result of millions of years of evolution.”

Omi glowered at him.

“Don’t you look at me like that!”

Pouting, Omi looked away.

Several feet ahead of them walked Guan and Junjie. The two warriors were conversing in low tones, but it was obvious from the stiffness between both of them that the conversation was not pleasant.

Jack allowed his eyes to rest on Junjie. He admired the easy glide of the young warrior’s stride; the ripple and sway of the long, glossy black hair. The power and strength in the man’s frame was easily apparent, though all he was doing was walking. Jack had always liked watching Chase Young walk, or even move at all. Each move the deadly man made was an economy of motion, yet was lyrical with grace—

Jack hastily averted his gaze. As if he could sense he was being watched – and he probably could, for all Jack knew – Junjie had turned to look over his shoulder at him. He willed himself not to blush and resolutely turned his gaze back to the would-be evil everlord.

Guan turned as well, saw Jack looking at them, and smiled. Reflexively, Jack offered a half-smile back.

The calm that had been easing into Junjie’s face disappeared and he once again faced forward, his demeanor radiating the chill of forced indifference.

Guan’s expression drooped and he turned also to begin talking to Junjie again.

“I think that if you smile at Master Monk Guan too much more, there will be a very ugly incident,” Omi said quietly from beside Jack.

Jack frowned at the little monk. “Whaddya mean, Bald—uh, Omi?”

Omi scowled, but let it go. “I mean that Junjie is very annoyed by the favorable attention you are giving Master Monk Guan. Junjie is liable to become grouchy over this.”

Jack sneered. “You’re saying he’s _jealous?_ Oh, get _real!_ Chase Young _hates_ me!”

“Chase Young hates _everyone_ ,” Omi corrected. “ _Junjie_ does not.”

The taller teenager frowned as he pondered that bit of information. If what Omi was saying was true, then this might be the catalyst needed to goad Junjie over to the side of Evil. He grimaced, because he just couldn’t stomach the thought of cuddling up to Guan. Yes, he wanted Junjie to become Chase Young and advance the cause of Evil, but there were some lengths he just wasn’t willing to go to in order to achieve his goals.

Jack decided that if Omi were correct, and Junjie _was_ in a snit, he’d better go coax Junjie out of his pout.

So of course that was when another monster chose to attack.

The hiss was louder than a steam engine’s as the giant snake rose up out of a hole in the ground to the left of the small group. The hole had been covered over to look as though it were safe earth. The four of them _had_ been walking towards it, but Guan and Junjie had marginally altered their course even as they talked; leading Jack and Omi past the patch, and the two teenagers now realized they had done so and why.

Jack looked up and up and up and _UP_ at the gigantic snake and shuddered. He had no great fear of snakes – not like his fear of spiders, anyway – but this thing was just a bit bigger than full-sized Dojo, and that didn’t sit well at all with Jack. His eyes wide, he took a few steps back and gasped, “Oh – my – _AAAAAAAAHHHH!_ Why does this thing look so familiar?!”

Omi tossed Jack the Monkey Staff, even as he pulled free the Orb of Tornami, and snapped, “Do you not remember when we were all seeking the Bird of Paradise?”

Jack nodded and said, “Oh, yeah! But that thing was all skin and bones – literally!”

“That is because it was _dead_ ,” Omi replied, bracing for battle. “It is currently alive!”

“And miles away from the Land of Nowhere!” Jack added, but he activated the Monkey Staff, knowing he’d need the extra agility.

Guan and Junjie went leaping high into the air just then, intent on drawing the giant snake’s attention, their spears ready for battle, and the snake turned on them.

Jack and Omi looked at each other, nodded silently, and then leaped into action themselves.

The four of them worked effectively together; interchanging roles as Attackers and Bait seamlessly, although Jack and Omi stayed mostly in the role of Bait, allowing Guan and Junjie to attack the snake. Unfortunately, the snake’s scales and hide were exceptionally tough, and the warriors’ spears were barely making a dent. They tried to go for the beast’s eyes, but the snake was too smart for that trick and dodged all incoming attacks that might truly have hurt it.

Omi growled under his breath as he watched Junjie and Guan leap out of the way of another strike from the snake’s big, poisonous fangs. Despite the prowess of three warriors and Jack’s ability to run away exceptionally well, the four of them were making no progress while the snake was getting closer and closer to wiping them out. Though it went against his very grain to do so, Omi knew that sometimes running away was the smarter option.

While Junjie and Guan once again made an attack against the snake and Jack fell back to stand by Omi, the little monk reached into his tunic sleeve and pulled out—

“The Silver Manta Ray?!” Jack bellowed, his sharp monkey fangs bared in a snarl of fury. “All this time we’ve been hiking along and you’ve had the Silver Manta Ray?”

“For emergency purposes only!” Omi snapped back.

“I’d say this qualifies!” Jack snarled. “Open ‘er up, Peewee!”

Omi gave Jack a very angry look, but he threw the Silver Manta Ray into the air, calling its name. In a flash of light, the Shen-Gong-Wu grew to its larger size and the canopy opened up as it hovered an inch or so off the ground.

The snake, attracted by the light, turned and lunged for the two youths.

“ _AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!_ ” both Jack and Omi screamed, and they leaped up and scrambled into the cockpit. Jack, dropping the Monkey Staff to take the controls, drove the Silver Manta Ray forward under the incoming attack.

“Get in, get in, _GET IN!_ ” Jack shrieked as the Ray flew towards Junjie and Guan.

Rather than argue, the two warriors leaped up and forward and landed in the seats behind Omi and Jack.

Omi closed the canopy and Jack flew the Silver Manta Ray straight up into the sky, narrowly dodging the next attack from the snake.

“Wh-What is this?” Guan asked through gritted teeth, holding onto the back of Omi’s seat with a white-knuckled grip.

“Another Shen-Gong-Wu called the Silver Manta Ray,” Omi replied, speaking very quickly. “Grab the straps by your left shoulders, pull them across your body, and slide them into the clasp by your right hips!”

Hurriedly, Junjie and Guan did as ordered and realized the straps were meant to hold them in place.

Jack leveled the Silver Manta Ray onto a more horizontal setting and then tilted the transport so they could all look through the canopy and down to the ground where the snake lay coiled.

“Then we are safe!” Junjie crowed, grinning as he leaned forward slightly to see past Jack’s shoulder. “Despite its length, the snake will not be able to reach us up here!”

“Except for one tiny little problem,” Jack growled as he tightened his grip on the controls.

“What’s that?” Omi asked, confused.

On the ground below, the snake let out an enraged snarl, flexed its body, and abruptly, giant leathery wings like those of a bat’s spread out from its body.

“The snake can fly, too,” Jack replied, and he turned the Silver Manta Ray so that it was heading away from the snake and pushed the throttle as far as it would go, increasing their speed.

“That hardly seems fair,” Guan rumbled, craning his neck in an attempt to peer out the side window to see behind them.

Jack made no reply; he was too busy concentrating on flying the Ray in a “bob and weave” pattern that, so far, was keeping them from becoming the snake’s lunch as the giant beast missed every time it lunged at them.

What followed was a spectacular aerial ballet as the snake attempted to catch them, but Jack looped and spiraled and dived and rolled the Silver Manta Ray away from every attack; deftly evading each attempt to deliver a death crunch from the massive jaws.

“Most excellent flying, Jack Spicer!” Omi yelled with a grin as the Silver Manta Ray flipped upside down at Jack’s command. The four of them could now see the earth “above” them, as well as the snake that, after having missed its latest lunge at them, had crashed face-first into the side of a mountain.

“I heartily agree!” Junjie added, grinning hugely himself. Despite the extreme danger they were all in, he was having a _lot_ of fun.

Guan, who had a slightly greenish tinge to his face, said nothing.

“Yeah, that’s great, glad you’re all happy,” Jack groused. “But that snake is gonna get lucky sooner or later. Omi, are there _any_ weapons on this thing?”

Omi nodded, leaned forward, and flicked a switch on the center console. Instantly, a subtle vibration began thrumming through the Ray. “These are electrical weapons, like the Eye of Dashi.”

“That’s _it?_ ” Jack grumbled.

“The Silver Manta Ray is primarily transport – not an attack vessel,” Omi replied primly.

“Freakin’ monks and their inability to take the initiative,” Jack spat. “Fine, if electrical weapons are all we have, it’s time to get creative.”

“How do you—“ Junjie stopped speaking as Jack abruptly sent the Ray into a barrel roll to avoid another snake attack; waiting until the Ray had leveled out again to finish with: “—plan to do that?”

“Electricity on its own is painful enough,” said Jack. “But electricity combined with _water_ …”

“…makes it even _more_ painful!” Omi said with a smirk as he caught on. “Get us into attack position, Jack Spicer – I shall do the rest!”

“What are you going to do?” Junjie asked, curious.

“Make that snake regret ever tangling with us!” Jack growled, and he flipped the Silver Manta Ray around, down, and then back up to hover level with the snake as it came flying straight at them.

Omi flipped the lever that opened the canopy, unsnapped his seatbelt, and then leaped out of the cockpit to balance on the nose of the Silver Manta Ray. Focusing only on his need to harness his element and _not_ the fact that a violent, messy death was rushing towards him at high speed, Omi concentrated and a ball of water began forming in front of him, spinning fast and tight around itself.

“ _Wudai Neptune Water!_ ” Omi shouted, and he pushed out with his hands, directing the water blast that arced out away from him, directly into the face of the snake.

The snake shuddered as it was effectively halted in its proverbial tracks; thrashing to escape the deluge of water it was being drenched with.

“Okay, that’s enough!” Jack said after nearly a minute of the Wudai attack. Omi instantly let go of his element and leaped back into the cockpit, the canopy closing tight behind him.

The snake shook its head fiercely, flinging water everywhere. Once it regained its orientation, its wings spread wider and it let out an indignant shriek of rage as it prepared to lunge again.

Jack reached out and slammed his hand down on the firing button of the electrical weapon.

From below the nose of the Silver Manta Ray, two slender appendages began to glow and then shot forth streamers of high voltage electricity. The energy slammed directly into the waterlogged snake and the water acted as it was supposed to: becoming a perfect conduit for the electricity.

The snake thrashed and howled and twitched and shuddered as it was enveloped in the glow of electricity; every cell and nerve seeming to feel like it were on fire as pain flooded through the beast until, finally, its’ heart gave out under the strain and it fell to the earth, dead before it hit the ground.

“Oh, yeah!” both Jack and Omi cheered, and they high-fived each other; putting aside their rivalry for a few moments to bask in the glow of triumph.

“Excellent,” Junjie murmured, looking down at the snake, still twitching in its death throes due to the electrical charge in its body.

“If the danger is over,” said Guan quietly, “may we now set down on solid earth again?”

“Yeah – when we get to wherever it is that we were going originally,” Jack said with a smirk. “We’ve got swift transport and we’re making use of it.”

Junjie turned and gripped Guan’s shoulder. Smiling, he said, “Meditate for a while, my friend; that should keep you centered.”

Guan offered a wan smile, but nodded and closed his eyes. A few moments later, his breathing evened out and his body settled into preternatural stillness.

“Take us west,” Junjie ordered, and Jack obligingly banked the Silver Manta Ray in the specified direction and drove the vehicle forward through the air.

They flew for a while, until the sun began setting. Finally, Junjie ordered Jack to land the Ray at the edge of a rather large forest. Jack did so and the four of them exited the vehicle once they were on the ground. After shrinking the Ray down to its dormant state, Omi hid it inside his tunic once again.

“Now what?” asked Jack.

“Now, we enter the forest,” Guan informed him, and he began leading the way into the woods.

“What’s in there?” Jack asked, walking beside Junjie while Omi, his little legs moving fast, hurried to catch up with Guan.

“Safety,” Junjie answered wryly. “We shall walk from now on, but we still need a place to sleep. This forest is not noted for having monsters in it. We will be able to sleep somewhat peacefully.”

“Somewhat.”

“Yes. Unfortunately, bandits are still a possibility, but easy enough to guard against. Our tiger instincts will warn us of danger.”

Jack groaned at the mention of ‘tiger instincts’ but what he said was, “Why are we doing this, anyway?”

“What do you mean?”

“All this walking around: is there a reason for it or do you just like taking the scenic route?”

Junjie grinned. “From what I have gathered with all of your griping over the last few days, you do not walk anywhere unless there is no other choice. I wonder, then, how you stay so thin.”

Jack smirked. “Fast metabolism.” At Junjie’s questioning look, he clarified with: “My body burns energy faster than most people’s bodies do.”

Junjie nodded. “That makes sense. To answer your question, however… we wander so that we may travel the world; see what new discoveries are waiting for us; and conquer evil should it show its face.”

Jack thought quickly and then said, “Yeah, but how long is that going to last? Another twenty, thirty years, tops? Then you’ll get slowed down by old age, or some villain will get lucky because you’re past your prime, and before you know it, you’re barely even a footnote in the historical scrolls.”

Junjie frowned and made no comment.

“And then, there’s the fact you’re not as popular as your big, strong friend over there. Everyone at that village was talking about Guan. Guan this, Guan that… practically figure Guan orders the sun to rise and set each day. Anytime someone brought up your name – which wasn’t often – it was swiftly followed up with the equivalent of ‘Yeah, that’s nice, but did you hear what _Guan_ did?’”

Junjie’s expression darkened slightly.

Deciding to push his luck, Jack added airily, “Of course, all the kids _my_ age were talking about how beautiful Guan is.”

Junjie aimed a sharp look at Jack. “You think he is beautiful?”

“Hey, their words, not mine. But I suppose I can understand where they’re coming from. I mean, there’s this young guy – tall and nothing but solid muscle. And those broad shoulders and all that smooth skin… of course, his nice-nice attitude gets on my nerves, but he doesn’t necessarily need to be talking.”

Jack very carefully did not admit that Guan’s largeness was off-putting to him, as was the lack of long, luxurious black hair, and a menacing voice, and really, the absence of anything Chase Young.

Junjie shuddered at the powerful wave of jealousy that rippled through him as he listened to Spicer talk about Guan.

“Well,” he said tightly, “I suppose that _matters_ to some people.”

Jack shrugged and stared straight ahead at Guan’s back. “I guess so. Pretty looks are easy to find everywhere, though. I don’t think folks would make such a fuss over him if he didn’t have those mad fighting skills.”

“Angry? Guan does not easily get angry; not even when fighting.”

Jack shook his head. “In this case, ‘mad’ is slang for ‘awesome’. Y’know… amazing, breath-taking, tremendous? Awe-inspiring, even.”

Junjie’s jealousy burned just a bit hotter.

Deciding that he’d said enough, Jack remained silent as he followed Guan and Omi through the forest as the sunlight faded from the sky overhead.


	10. Immoral Support

Junjie watched Jack sleep.

Unable to sleep, he’d lain unmoving in his bedroll for a few hours before he finally had enough and sat up; giving in to his brain’s need to keep thinking relentlessly.

He stared at the strange white youth who’d come so unexpectedly into his life. His eyes traced the smooth curvature of one soft cheek that glowed with a gentle pink color from the coals of the nearby banked camp fire. Thick, black eyelashes lay like dark smudges against that utterly white skin. Behind the closed lids, Spicer’s red eyes were moving and Junjie wondered what the young man was dreaming.

He couldn’t stop thinking about what Spicer had said earlier – about youth, Guan, and what history would have to say about him. He knew that the only reason Spicer was even _here_ was because a very distant Junjie ordered the youth to come back to him in this time. Despite the lure of fame and power, Junjie did not want to think himself susceptible to the forces of evil.

Deciding to meditate on the matter, he picked up his spear and headed off into the woods to be alone, remaining within hearing distance so he could help if his friends were attacked.

Settling down, he put his spear by his right hip and crossed his legs, tucking his feet up over his knees, and cupping his hands together in front of his lap – Instinct within Reason – he closed his eyes and began to slow his breathing.

“The young man struck a _nerve_ , apparently.”

Junjie’s eyes flew open. Grabbing his spear, he smoothly uncrossed his legs and rolled up into a defensive position. He was completely still, his eyes focused straight ahead while he allowed his senses to open wide, scanning the area for an incoming threat.

“Nice form,” said the deep, drawling voice from above him. “But it isn’t necessary, boy.”

Junjie dived, tucked, rolled and came up onto his feet, glancing up at the tree branch that had been over his head, spear held out in front of him.

“Young’uns – they never listen,” said the voice.

A moment later, a tiny form landed on the back of the hand that held the spear.

Junjie blinked incredulously at the sight of a bean with eyes and a mouth and root-arms that was grinning at him.

“Who – and what – are you?” he growled.

“My name is Hannibal Roy Bean. That should make it doubly obvious _what_ I am,” the legume replied with a smirk.

“I am not accustomed to _beans_ possessing the ability to speak,” Junjie replied dryly, not relaxing in the slightest.

“There ain’t another bean like me in the world,” said Hannibal. “But that’s not important. What _is_ important is _you_.”

Junjie raised an eyebrow.

“Yon strange white boy… he made a good point earlier tonight. You know he did if it’s got you so stirred up you can’t sleep.”

Junjie shook his head and slowly straightened up. He brought up his other hand, palm up, for Hannibal to rest on. Once the bean had jumped into his palm, he allowed his spear hand to drop.

“Spicer was talking, yes, but I cannot allow myself to listen. To do so will lead to—“

“Greatness,” Hannibal interrupted, his tone nothing but wickedness. “You can’t mean to tell me you’re _content_ with playing second fiddle to Master Monk Guan the rest of your life?”

Junjie blinked. “You talk as strangely as Spicer does. Are you from the future as well?”

Hannibal smirked. “No… and yes.”

“That is a nonsensical answer.”

“Magic doesn’t _have_ to make sense.”

Junjie’s eyes widened. “You! You are the one Omi came back to warn me about.”

“Oh, really? Haven’t seen him interacting with you all that much. Mostly he’s been flitting about Guan. When has young Omi had time to warn you about anything, let alone li’l ol’ me?”

Junjie frowned. What Bean said was true; Omi had barely spent any time with him at all. He did not know what to make of it. Perhaps, having decided not to tell Junjie of his future self, Omi did not know _what_ to say to him. That shouldn’t have stopped him from interacting with Junjie at all, yet Omi spent more of his time with Guan than with him.

“Perhaps it is merely because Spicer and I spend so much time talking,” Junjie suggested, quickly coming up with a theory.

“Mmm-hmm,” agreed Hannibal sardonically; his tone clearly indicating that despite his words, he didn’t actually believe that theory.

Junjie sighed and shook his head. “It is clear to me to that you are Evil. In my experience, Evil does not begin a conversation without an express purpose.”

Hannibal grinned, delighted. “You _are_ a sharp one, Lóng; I’ll give you that. You’d be right. I’m here to wake you up to the fact that you’re not going to fulfill your destiny by wasting time on the side of Good.”

Now it was Junjie’s turn to smirk. “I have a destiny?”

“Of course you do, boy! Right now, you have the _potential_ to be the greatest warrior this world has ever known. But you ain’t going to see that potential _realized_ if you’re always in Guan’s shadow.”

Junjie scowled. “I am not in his ‘shadow’. Guan and I are friends and excellent battle partners. I can trust him to guard my back, as I guard his.”

“You mean by leaving a runt of a monk and a white weirdo to keep him company while he sleeps?” Hannibal shot back.

Junjie’s scowl became a thunderous frown. “I do not know ‘weirdo’, but it is clearly a derogatory name. Do _not_ say such about Spicer again.”

Hannibal’s eyes widened and then he grinned hugely. “Well, looky here – you’re sweet on the boy! Now isn’t that just _darlin’_.”

The evil bean then leaped to a nearby tree branch, feeling the tensing of Junjie’s muscles in the palm of his hand, and narrowly avoided being squished rather messily.

“You will leave Spicer _alone_ ,” Junjie growled, pointing his spear at Hannibal.

“Of course I will,” Hannibal said calmly. “Despite his greenness, young Spicer’s clearly on the side of Evil. I don’t have to do a damn thing to him. You, on the other hand, need my help.”

“I do not need your kind of help!” Junjie spat. “Begone!”

Hannibal sighed. “I just hate it when they go all noble on me. Fine, boy; fine. You win this round, but I’ll be back. Many of the truths you cling to depend greatly on your point of view – and points of view are always changing.”

With that, Bean vanished into nothingness.

Junjie stood looking up at the tree branch for a few seconds, and then he spun around at the sound of a sleepy voice asking, “Who were you talking to?”

He grinned at the sight of a sleep-tousled Jack Spicer, who stood only a few feet from him, rubbing gently at one eye; his red-orange hair sticking out in every direction. Jack had shed his long coat and stood in tight black trousers that hugged his skin closely, and a dark red shirt with the sleeves missing.

Jack noticed that Junjie hadn’t replied; instead, the man stood there, grinning at him. Frowning, he dropped his hand and asked again, “Who were you talking to?”

Junjie sighed and said, “I believe it was the Moment you’ve been waiting for since you came to this time and place.”

Jack’s eyes snapped open wide and he glanced around fearfully, shivering as terror crept like ice down his spine.

“Hannibal Roy Bean was _here?_ ” he squeaked in a high-pitched voice.

Junjie frowned. “It _was_ him you were waiting for me to meet.”

Jack looked sharply at the young warrior and asked, “What’s your name?”

“Lóng Junjie. I told you befo—“

“ _You didn't take the offer?_ ” Jack yelled, incredulous.

Junjie frowned. “Of course not. Having seen your reaction to merely the mention of his name, I am doubly glad of it.”

“Of _course_ I’m scared of Hannibal Roy Bean! Anyone with an ounce of common sense would be scared of him!” Jack shouted. “But that doesn’t mean you were supposed to brush him off!”

Junjie sighed and collapsed his spear, tucking it into his sash for safekeeping. He then walked over to Jack, saying, “Be quiet; you do not want to wake the others. There is no need to be frightened now; Bean is gone.”

Jack, seeing Junjie’s hands reaching out for his shoulders, gave them a nervous look and edged away.

Instantly, Junjie scowled. “I am not going to hurt you, Spicer!”

“No, I’m sure _you_ won’t – it’s your future self I’m worried about!”

“You have no need to worry. I have refused Hannibal Bean’s offer. I will not become the terrible evil of the future.”

Jack groaned. “But you’re _supposed_ to!”

“Not everything is written in stone. The future, in particular, is quite fluid; changing to meet every new possibility.”

“Then why do I remember you so clearly as Chase Young?! That hasn’t changed!”

Junjie frowned. “Perhaps it is some residual magic from the Shen-Gong-Wu that brought you here?”

Jack hesitated. “Maybe. But that doesn’t—“

Junjie caught hold of Jack, pulled him close, and kissed him.

Jack struggled frantically, bringing up his hands to push against the other young man’s chest. He writhed, trying to pull free, only to find himself turned and pressed up against a sturdy tree. His eyes went wide and he found himself staring into an intense gold gaze. When a hot, agile tongue deftly flicked over his lips, Jack gasped, and Junjie used the opportunity to delve into his mouth.

Startled, Jack squeaked and his hands scrabbled uselessly against Lóng’s chest as he tensed. Abruptly, he realized Junjie’s _tongue_ was in his _mouth_ – he was being _kissed_. Real, actual, honest-to-hotness _kissed_ , and he shivered as he let out a long, low moan.

Junjie pulled back, but kept his mouth very close to Jack’s. Smiling, he tenderly stroked one finger down one of Jack’s cheeks and murmured, “So beautiful. You are so very, very beautiful.”

Trembling, scarcely daring to breathe, Jack stared back at Junjie with very wide, startled eyes. Junjie could see that Jack did not believe him.

“I have wanted you from nearly the moment I saw you,” Junjie confessed. “I have never met anyone like you before.”

“Th-That’ll ch-change,” Jack stammered. “In the future—“

“The future is uncertain and it is not _now_ ,” Junjie countered, his voice a sexy growl that made Jack shudder with an unnamed longing and various parts of him go rigid. “Now is when I want you. May I have you, Jack Spicer?”

“I – I – I – I –“

Junjie smiled at the stuttering young man. Leaning in, he slid his lips across Jack’s cheek to his left ear. He nuzzled there for a moment and then began to nip and kiss his way very slowly down the strong white column of Jack’s neck.

“Please,” he said softly as he tasted Jack’s skin. “I will make it good for you, Spicer. I learned well in my encounters with others. I can give you so much pleasure….”

Jack groaned and shook against Junjie’s body, staring blindly up at the dark tree tops overhead. He so desperately wanted what the other man was offering, but the looming possible threat of retaliation from Chase Young once he returned to his time was still fixed firmly in his awareness.

Junjie knew Jack was still thinking of future trouble by the way Spicer remained tense against him, and so he redoubled his efforts. He covered every inch of Jack’s neck with kisses, nips, and tiny licks; enjoying the taste of the white skin. Slowly, he slid his hands behind Jack, his large hands splaying against the slender back to provide a sense of warmth and security.

Lulled by the slow, tender motions and the warmth at his back, Jack began to relax, melting gradually against Junjie, giving in to the bliss of being touched so gently, so warmly.

Pleased, Junjie trailed his lips up over Jack’s chin and back to Spicer’s mouth. To his utter delight, Jack welcomed him by kissing him back; angling his head to better fit his mouth to Junjie’s. Hesitantly, his tongue met and played with Junjie’s as his arms crept up to slide over Junjie’s shoulders, wrapping around the back of his neck as Jack buried his hands in the other man’s hair.

Junjie was beginning to lower them both slowly to the ground, Jack willingly going with him, when a throat was cleared rather loudly. Jack flinched and tore his mouth from Junjie’s, blushing hotly, and looked to his right to see Omi glaring at him.

“Release Junjie and step away from him _now_ , Jack Spicer!” Omi snapped angrily.

Jack, shivering with frustrated arousal and a thread of fear as he realized he’d allowed himself to kiss Junjie, mindlessly tried to follow Omi’s orders.

Junjie held him tighter and glared back at Omi as he said, “Clearly, it has escaped your notice, little one, that _I_ am holding _Spicer_ against the tree – not the other way around.”

Omi scowled at the taller warrior. “I insist that you stop it at once.”

Junjie laughed. “Why would I want to do that?”

“Because Jack Spicer is bad for you! He will lead you down the path of darkness—“

Junjie held up his hand and Omi stopped speaking. Then Junjie turned his head to look at Jack and was surprised to see the youth had his face averted; from what he could see of Jack’s blush, and the tension of Spicer’s body, he realized that Jack was feeling ashamed.

Sighing roughly, he lowered his head and pressed his lips to Jack’s ear, ignoring the startled flinch the youth gave, and whispered, “I am sorry, Spicer. I did not mean for you to feel shame – only pleasure. I am sorry if I have hurt you.”

“Didn’t,” came the muffled reply, but Jack still did not turn his head to look at him.

Sighing again, Junjie gently let go of the younger man and took a step back. “Go back to the camp,” he said quietly. “I need to have a talk with Omi.”

Jack nodded and quickly left the area; not looking at either Omi or Junjie as he hastened away.

Omi watched Jack go and frowned as he recognized the furtive movements of one who felt humiliated. When the other teenager was gone, Omi turned his head to look at Junjie, who was leaning back against the tree Jack had been pressed up against only moments ago.

“What did you do to Jack Spicer?” the little monk demanded, abruptly incensed over any perceived wrong done to the Evil Boy Genius. Despite their differences and adversarial state, Omi counted Jack Spicer as a friend – an annoying, often _bothersome_ friend, but a friend nevertheless.

“I kissed him to let him know how much I appreciate and want him,” Junjie replied honestly. “He was unreceptive to it at first because he feared retribution from my future self, but he need not worry about it anymore.”

“Why is that?” asked Omi with one eyebrow raised.

“Because I have met my test and passed,” Junjie said with a smile. “An entity named Hannibal Roy Bean was here several minutes ago. He tried to tempt me to the side of Evil and I resisted.”

Omi’s jaw dropped and his eyes widened. “Hannibal Bean was _here?!_ ”

The older man frowned. “Spicer had that very same reaction. Bean _must_ be formidable indeed if he causes both Good and Evil to fear him.”

“If you had any sense of self-preservation, you would fear him, too,” Omi said, looking around nervously. “He is a devious trickster who causes destruction and mayhem with his scheming!”

“Hmm… the information is a little late, but better to have it at all than to bemoan its lack later.”

“Forewarned is half an octopus,” Omi agreed, nodding sagely.

Junjie stared blankly at the little monk, clearly confused.

“Uh… forearmed,” Omi corrected himself sheepishly. “Forewarned is forearmed.”

“What is an octopus and what has it to do with forewarning?”

“An octopus is a sea creature with eight arms, so half of eight is four,” Omi explained, then gave Junjie a confused look. “You have not seen one?”

Junjie shook his head. “I have not had occasion to go near the sea before. I have always wanted to,” he added wistfully.

“It is a wondrous place,” Omi said with a smile. “As are the many and diverse lands spread out upon this planet!”

“I wish to visit them all,” Junjie said softly.

“There is no reason to not do so.”

Junjie was silent as he thought about it.

“And you can get Master Monk Guan to go with you!” burbled Omi, smiling. “He will enjoy seeing the sights as well!”

For some reason, Omi mentioning Guan caused a skirl of irritation to rise up within Junjie.

Shaking his head, Junjie replied softly, “I will think on it. For now, we should return to camp and get some rest. I believe _you_ owe Spicer an apology.”

Omi bowed, acknowledging the older man’s words, and then began walking back to the camp.

Junjie sighed. Closing his eyes, he centered himself in calm and control, tamping down the arousal he’d generated with Spicer. Then he, too, went back to camp.

 

*~*~*

 

The morning found the four of them seated quietly around their campfire, eating a small breakfast of nuts and berries gathered from the forest, as well as small loaves of bread designed for travelers, made for them by Liu.

Omi glanced over at Jack, who was staring down at his own crossed legs as he ate silently. Last night, after arriving back in camp, he had snuggled up carefully against Jack’s back; even though the other teenager had tensed, he hadn’t shoved him away. So, Omi had whispered his apologies to Jack and then settled down so that they lay back to back – or, given Omi’s height, back to entire body. Still, he had shared his body warmth with Jack and had been grateful when the taller youth had not moved away from him.

Now, he wanted to cheer the morose teenager up and so he smiled and said, “Jack Spicer – I have learned a new joke. Allow me to share it with you!”

Jack’s head lifted and he frowned at Omi. “You? A joke? Oh, please – you can barely talk straight on a good day! This oughtta be fun.”

Omi stuck out his tongue cheerfully and replied, “I have learned it from Clay!”

Jack sighed and facepalmed. Then, he lifted his head again and made a motion to continue.

Omi cleared his throat and, aware that Guan and Junjie were listening as well, recited, “A cowboy walked into a bar. He was wearing a paper hat, a paper bandana, a paper shirt, paper chaps, and paper pants. He was arrested...”

Jack winced, sure of the punch line.

“…for _rustlin'!_ ” Omi finished proudly.

Jack groaned. He had been right.

“I do not get it,” said Guan.

“Rustling: also known as thieving in the Western part of the world,” Jack clarified. “Paper also makes a _noise_ called rustling when it’s rubbed against itself.”

“Ah,” said the monk.

Then Jack gave Omi a smirk and said, “Try this one, Omi. Why can't the Buddha vacuum under his sofa?”

Omi blinked and shrugged.

“He has no attachments!” Jack finished.

Guan and Junjie exchanged confused glances and decided to let it go.

Omi puzzled the riddle over for a few moments. Then, recalling all the bits and parts that went with a vacuum-cleaner after having seen one, the meaning came to him and he began laughing uproariously.

Jack grinned, pleased with himself. For a moment or two, he’d thought it would’ve been a wasted effort, but no, the little round-headed dweeb had gotten it.

Omi finally calmed down and he pointed at Jack and said, “I have another one for you! What does a sacred chao say?”

Jack shrugged.

“Mu!” was the answer.

Jack did not get it, but both Guan and Junjie began laughing.

At Jack’s confused look, Omi chuckled and then folded his arms, slipping his hands into his sleeves to adopt a more authoritative pose. “The Sacred Chao is the key to illumination, Jack Spicer, as defined by Discordians. It was devised by the Apostle Hung Mung in ancient China, and later _changed_ and made popular by the Taoists; they turned the idea of the Sacred Chao into what you know as the Yin-Yang. The _real_ Sacred Chao is—“

Jack made a harsh buzzer sound and put his hands into the Time-Out symbol, effectively shutting Omi up. “Thanks, Professor Cheeseball, but I really _don’t_ need theological lessons first thing in the morning.” He frowned, then, and asked, “But all that stuff you were saying… the symbol is pretty much the same?”

“Yes. For the Sacred Chao, one of the symbols is a Pentagon; the other is the Golden Apple of the Greek Legend.”

Jack blinked and then stared belligerently at Omi. “How do you _know_ all this?”

Omi smirked. “Knowledge is not limited to an open-minded adventurer.”

“Very well said, young Omi,” said Guan with a smile, and Omi beamed a huge smile back.

“Yeah, but you still can’t learn to use _slang_ properly?” Jack groused, and shook his head wearily. He glanced at Junjie, expecting to see him watching the other two, and was startled to find the other man looking at _him_ with a warm gold gaze. Embarrassed, he flicked his gaze away and back to Omi.

“Okay, how about this?” he said. “What’s large, gray, and _not_ to the point?”

Omi shook his head, confused.

“An irrelephant!”

At that, Junjie laughed. Everyone turned to look at him, startled.

“I get it,” he said with a smirk. “Instead of irrele _vant_ , it is an irrele _phant_.”

Guan started laughing and Omi, not wanting to be left out, giggled too.

When they’d stopped laughing, Junjie stood up and stretched, then said, “I believe it is time we were moving on.”

“Agreed,” Guan said affably, and he rolled up onto his knees to begin scooping up dirt to put out the small fire with.

Jack got up onto his feet, moving a bit stiffly. He still wasn’t used to the nomadic lifestyle. “I’ve got to pee; back in a bit.”

Omi hopped up easily. “Very wise decision, Jack Spicer.”

“Just find your _own_ tree, all right?” Jack groused, and walked away from the camp.

Omi hurried after him, but split off after a few feet to go find his own tree.

Sighing, Jack walked further into the forest until he was reasonably certain no one could hear or see him. Unzipping his trousers, he took aim at the base of a large tree and did what he had to do, sighing in relief. When he was done, he carefully shook it off and then tucked himself back in and zipped up again.

Giving his hands a gross look, he turned around, and froze where he stood with a muffled squeak and his eyes wide at the sight of Junjie standing only a few feet away; leaning back against a tree, his arms crossed over his chest, and smirking.

Gulping, Jack then demanded, “How long were you standing there?”

“I followed you the entire way. Worry not – I did not see anything you did not want me to see,” Junjie replied.

“But… why did you follow me?” Jack asked, incredulous.

“One reason is to give you this,” the older man replied, and unfolded his arms to hand over a few slender weed stalks. “Break them and smear the juices on your hands.”

Confused, Jack did so, and realized he’d been given Nature’s equivalent of anti-bacterial hand-sanitizer. “Hey, thanks. What else—“

The stalks fell from his hands as he was caught up against Junjie and kissed.

Startled, Jack yelped into Junjie’s mouth. When Junjie’s arms began to slide around him to hold him in place, Jack stiffened and pushed against the young warrior with all his might.

Junjie pulled his mouth from Jack’s and frowned as he looked down at the youth in his arms. “What is wrong?”

“This! You have _got_ to stop kissing me like this!” Jack protested.

“Why? Do you not enjoy it? I do; and if it is the future you are wary of—“

“Yeah, yeah – that’s not an issue because you turned Hannibal Bean down.”

“Just so – there is nothing to fear and we can enjoy each other.”

“Except I’m _not_ enjoying it!”

Junjie smirked. “That is not what you expressed last night.”

Jack flushed crimson and pushed out of the other man’s arms.

“Spicer, I know you like my kisses. Why not let me show you how much better it can be?”

Angry and annoyed, Jack snapped back, “Because _you_ aren’t the one that I want!” With that, he sidestepped around Junjie and stormed back towards camp, grateful when the older man did not immediately follow.

He’d spoken truthfully; he did not want Junjie. He wanted Chase Young. True, this younger version _looked_ like the man he knew, but this person was most definitely Lóng Junjie: Defender of Good. Perhaps it was selfish of him, but Jack wanted Chase Young: Prince of Darkness and Evil. All that _power_ , all that _passion_ … Despite the fact that he could lay on a kiss that damn near knocked Jack’s socks off, Junjie was rather bland in comparison with his future evil self.

 

*~*~*

 

Junjie watched Jack go; irritated and frustrated with his lack of success. He _wanted_ Jack Spicer – wanted _all_ of him. He longed to possess Spicer’s heart, mind, and body. He wanted to win Jack’s devotion; to occupy Jack’s thoughts; to caress and taste and make love to every inch of that smooth white body. He wanted those red eyes to be dazed with passion and gazing up at him in adoration as he coaxed cries of pleasure from that lush young mouth. He had never before hungered so intensely for another person as he did for Jack Spicer.

Sighing, Junjie began walking back towards the camp. Halfway there, Omi stepped in beside him and he looked down at the odd little monk, who was smiling up at him. Reflexively, he smiled back. Omi was an utterly charming youngster and a part of him regretted that he would not be alive in Omi’s time to meet the boy again. A bigger regret was that he would never be with Jack Spicer. Still, he had made the correct decision and that would have to comfort him.

“Now that my mission is complete, I must return to my time,” Omi said quietly. “It has been nice getting to know you. I am grateful that I took this trip back.”

“I have enjoyed your company as well, little one – when you were not with Guan, that is,” Junjie replied, teasing gently.

Omi blushed and looked up at the older teenager sheepishly.

Junjie laughed and reached down to pat Omi on the head affectionately. “Do not worry, young one. Everything worked out for the best.”

“True. I am most sad to realize that I shall not have the pleasure of knowing you in the future – although my memories of you seem to still be intact,” Omi said, puzzled.

“Spicer said nearly the same thing. My supposition is that the magic of the Shen-Gong-Wu is enabling you to retain your memories of the future.”

“That is as good a theory as any,” Omi said with a grin. “Still, I must make certain. I will write out a message to leave in the Xiaolin Temple so that I may find it in the future.”

“Good id—“ Junjie started to say, but abruptly froze, staring straight ahead at the sight of Guan holding Jack Spicer close against him.

 

*~*~*

 

Jack made his way back to camp, thinking hard.

Mostly he thought about Chase Young and wondered why he could still remember the evil everlord so clearly. Shen-Gong-Wu magic could only account for so much. There had to be something more to it, and if there was, then that meant Jack was in for some vicious trouble when he got back to his own time.

He gave a brief thought for just taking the Sands of Time and high-tailing it out to another Era to live out his remaining years before Lóng Junjie was ever born, but he quickly let that thought go. He would never be able to survive without technology. He was a Master of Robotics. That mastery was his pride and joy since his knowledge of all things technological was the only true talent he had.

Still, that meant he had to plan how to avoid Chase Young’s retribution for what he did with Junjie. Jack winced as he remembered the feel of being wrapped up in strong arms and kissed so… so… he really didn’t have a description for it, having never been kissed before. Junjie had made him feel hot and shivery and achy all over in a really wicked way; he couldn’t help that he’d never felt anything like it and wanted to feel it again.

But not with Junjie.

Jack was thinking about this so hard that he didn’t notice he’d gone stomping into the camp until he walked smack into an obstacle. Blinking in startlement, he stumbled back, only to be caught by huge hands. Flinching, Jack looked up, and then up some more to see Guan giving him a concerned look.

“Are you well, Spicer?” Guan asked.

“I – I – let go of me,” Jack said shakily.

Guan frowned. “That is not quite the ‘yes’ I was hoping for. What happened?”

Jack shook his head and shrugged irritably, trying to loosen Guan’s grip. “Nothing, all right? Just leave me alone!”

The taller man shook his head slowly. “I think you have been left alone too often in your life, young Spicer.”

“What do you care?” Jack snarled. “I’m one of the Bad Guys and you’re a Good Guy.”

“This means I am compassionate enough to leave my mind – and ears – open to whoever needs them. What has injured you so?”

“I’m not _injured_ ,” Jack growled. “Just… worried.”

“Anything that I might be able to help you with?”

“Doubt it – unless you can figure out a way to keep someone I know from pounding me into the ground like a tent peg because of something I did with somebody else I know.”

Guan was silent for a moment as he puzzled out the cryptic sentence. Then he smiled and said, “Junjie is a passionate man, this is true. But he would never do anything to you that would hurt you – either now or then. He met his test and passed; I do not believe you have anything to fear. I trust Junjie with all my heart. It is my advice that you can do so as well.”

Jack grimaced. “Yeah, that’s swell – except that I’m _not_ so sure he passed his test. And what do you mean you advise that I can trust him, too?”

Guan grinned. “I have seen the way Junjie looks at you. While he has given a fine eye to several comely young people, I have never before seen him like this. If I had to guess, I would say he has fallen in love with you. And… I have seen the way you look at him when you think no one notices.”

“I’m only trying to imagine Junjie as Chase Young!” Jack defended.

“The protests of youth,” Guan said with a chuckle. “I realize you do not believe me, but Junjie _is_ a good man – and as such, he will not do anything to shame or hurt you. Perhaps you should see not what you _want_ to see, but what could be?”

Jack sighed and closed one eye, squinting up at Guan with the other as he asked, “Is it some law or something that if you’re on the Good Guys’ side? You _have_ to speak in riddles and platitudes?”

Guan laughed at that. “I like you, Jack Spicer. You are a fine person.”

“I’m _evil_ ,” Jack grumbled.

“So you say,” Guan said, and then he startled Jack by pulling the youth against him for a tight hug.

Jack went rigid when he found himself pressed up against the hard wall of flesh that was Guan’s chest. Gradually, however, he realized he was being hugged – actually, really, truly hugged; a gesture of goodwill given to him without strings for no reason other than to comfort him. Some deeply buried part of Jack’s psyche reacted to this momentous occasion and he brought his arms up to hug Guan back, figuring he could give in just this once.

Only to be frightened out of his hug-induced tranquility by a very cold, very angry voice growling: “What are you doing?”


	11. Excuse Me While I Change Into Something More Formidable

Jack pulled away from Guan, who loosened his hold so Jack could move. Then the evil genius turned to face Junjie, who was staring at him with cold, gold eyes.

“Junjie—“ he said, but got no farther.

“You do know my name,” the older man said coldly. “I was beginning to wonder.”

Jack blinked. “Yeah, I know your name. What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Perhaps it is that you tell me I’m not the one you want, and so I arrive to find you in Guan’s arms?”

Guan sighed. “Junjie, you know I have no interest in men. I was merely giving the boy a hug to comfort him. He was upset.”

Junjie blinked and he looked to Jack again, who shrugged and looked away. Frowning, he opened his mouth to speak, but never got the chance.

Trees began breaking apart and a horrible roaring noise rent the air as gigantic rock creatures began coming up out of the earth.

Jack screeched as a creature began rising directly beneath him, flinging him off towards a tree. He hit the tree hard and crumpled to the ground with a groan. Shaking his head, he looked up in time to see a huge foot heading right for him and his throat locked, trapping a scream inside. Before the foot could connect, however, Guan leaped across, caught him, and went leaping away again, depositing Jack behind a tree before turning to meet one of the rock creatures head on.

Gasping, Jack, cowered behind the tree as he struggled to orient himself. Everything had happened so fast. Then, Omi went racing by, throwing Jack’s coat and the Monkey Staff to him, and Jack was pleased with himself when he caught the items. He yanked on his coat and activated the Monkey Staff, but waited before leaping into the fray. He had no idea what he could do against the rock creatures; he’d only been able to defeat them the first time with his robots and their blasters. Currently, it was just him, the Monkey Staff, and three goody-goody warriors – although he did have to admit that they were kicking the rock creatures’ butts.

Jack’s eyes went wide as crumbled boulders that used to be part of a rock creature suddenly came crashing towards him. Swiftly, he leaped out of the way, only to be blindsided by the swinging fist of another rock creature. The force of the hit knocked the breath from his lungs and he went sailing through the air and was caught by yet _another_ rock creature. It wrapped its fist tightly around him and began squeezing. Jack shuddered and squirmed, letting out high-pitched monkey yelps of distress.

Junjie came leaping in from the side, spear out and ready, only to be swatted aside by the rock creature holding Jack, which startled Jack to no end. He hadn’t believed anything so slow and stupid like a rock monster could get the better of Junjie. Then, Guan came up from behind the rock creature and cleaved its head in two with a strike from his own spear, then swiped again; quartering the rock creature’s head.

The rock creature crumbled into a pile of inert stones and Jack hit the ground as the hand holding him loosened. Swiftly, he rolled out of the way and looked up, seeing Guan crouched nearby. Grinning, his tail wagging, Jack gave Guan a thumb’s up and then leaped away to help Omi by distracting one of the last remaining rock creatures so the little monk could then break the monster apart.

Guan looked around, saw Junjie ably defeating a rock creature, and was relieved that his friend was not injured. He turned his attention to the last monster heading for him and swiftly destroyed it before turning to meet his friend.

“Well fought!” Guan said with a grin.

Junjie nodded in reply, but his smile did not reach his eyes.

“You should see to the young ones,” he said, gesturing towards the forest where Omi and Jack had disappeared with the rest of the monsters.

“What about you?” Guan asked, concerned.

Junjie hesitated. “I will be fine. I will remain here in case more of the monsters arrive.”

He did not want to come right out and say that he was embarrassed at having been hit by the rock monster and that he was angry with Guan and Jack, and felt the need to injure them both.

Guan hesitated, but finally nodded and walked away, heading deeper into the forest to determine if Omi and Jack needed his help.

Junjie watched the other man go and then slumped wearily against a tree that had miraculously remained untouched during the battle. He was feeling disoriented and out of sorts.

“Well, well… seems as though young Spicer’s got eyes for somebody else.”

Junjie flinched at the sound of Hannibal Bean’s voice. Looking up, he saw the evil legume perched on a branch above him, and sighed tiredly.

“You again,” he muttered quietly.

“Yes, me,” agreed Hannibal. “Thought you could use somebody to talk to after catching your love interest canoodling with your best friend.”

Junjie frowned. “Canoodling?”

“Fooling around behind your back.”

Junjie shook his head. “It was merely a hug; Guan said so.”

“If you say so. I just think it’s funny how a lad who doesn’t like to be touched seemed so cozy snuggled up against a big guy like Guan, but can’t stand to be touched by you.”

Baring his teeth, Junjie struggled to ignore Bean’s words.

“Then again, considering the way Guan saved Spicer’s tail _twice_ while _you_ got tossed across the clearing, I guess it’s not too surprising that the boy would want someone who can take care of him.”

“ _I_ can take care of him!” Junjie spat, pushing away from the tree and glaring upwards.

“Oh, _really?_ From where I sat, Guan did most of the work while you stayed out of the way. _And_ Guan rescued young Spicer, quite handily. Face it, Lóng – with Guan in the picture, you’re doomed to be second best; in battle _and_ in bed.”

Junjie swallowed. He did not want to acknowledge such cruel words… but he feared they were true. He knew he was a decent warrior, a good warrior; but he was not acknowledged as a _great_ warrior – not like Guan was. Everywhere they went… Guan’s name was hailed with joy from friends and feared by enemies.

Hannibal, seeing the doubt creeping into Junjie’s eyes, smirked and hopped down to rest on the young man’s shoulder. Leaning up, he curled one root-arm-tentacle around the rim of Junjie’s ear and murmured, “You are _better_ than he is and you _know_ it. The _problem_ is that no one else can _see_ you… but I have the solution.”

Junjie made a questioning sound in his throat.

“There is a potion that only one person can drink that will unleash the potential within him – that person is you and the potion is _here_ ,” Hannibal purred. He leaped down from Junjie’s shoulder to a tree stump and turned to face the warrior. One of his root-arms waved languidly and a chalice materialized on the end of it; full of a greenish liquid and what appeared to be the tip of a dragon’s tail.

“The Lao Mang Lóng potion will get you started on the path to greatness,” Hannibal said. “The rest is entirely up to you.”

“The Potion of Long Life?” Junjie murmured, feeling strangely numb.

“Yes, my boy – long life. _Eternal_ youth; you will never age a day from this moment on. You will _always_ be young, strong, and beautiful. _Guan_ will grow old and frail and die, but not _you_. You will have all the glory, all the songs… and _more_. You will win _Jack Spicer_.”

Hannibal held up the chalice towards Junjie, smiling. It wasn’t a pleasant smile.

Junjie looked at the chalice indecisively; torn between doing what he’d always known to be right and giving in to what he most desperately wanted.

“—a battle well fought!” said Omi’s cheerful voice, and Junjie turned to see Omi walking back into the demolished campsite, followed by Guan and Jack.

Who was looking up at Guan and grinning while Guan’s hand rested on his shoulder.

Abruptly, Omi froze where he stood, his eyes wide as he took in the scene in front of him. Guan and Jack, noticing the lack of his good cheer, looked ahead as well.

“Hannibal Bean!” Jack gasped, his eyes wide as he instinctively tried to huddle back into safety, which in this case meant Guan.

“Junjie!” Guan shouted, his grip tightening around his spear.

Junjie took in the sight of Spicer cringing back against Guan, seeking comfort and safety from the bigger man, and he lost his battle. Whirling about, he snatched the chalice from Hannibal and swiftly drank it down, choking slightly at the taste.

“No-o-o-o-o-o-o!” Omi yelled, his expression frantic, and he tensed as he prepared to leap towards Junjie.

It was too late.

The chalice dropped to the ground with a dull thud while Junjie’s body contorted. He writhed as pain pooled in every part of his body. Frightened, his hands closed into fists and he shuddered harshly, the pain escalating. He could feel a change happening within himself and he didn’t know what to do.

Hannibal Bean was laughing with dark pleasure, and he called out, “Let it happen, boy! Let it _happen!_ ”

Unable to do anything else, Junjie threw himself into the pain and let the transformation take him.

Guan, Jack and Omi watched, mouths agape, as Junjie began to physically change. The man’s mouth opened and he emitted a piercing scream that curdled their blood as it accurately expressed the amount of pain Junjie was in. Only seconds later, however, the scream mutated; deepening and becoming more animal-sounding as Junjie’s cry became a vicious roar that no purely human throat could produce.

Junjie’s body swelled, growing larger with each passing second. Soon, he burst through his clothing as his proportions exceeded the boundaries of his garments. His skin darkened, changing color and texture as it transformed into fine scales; dark green alternating with bands of black. A tail burst from his back, tipped with spikes. His hair pulled in and attached to his back, becoming a leathery fringe that trailed from his forehead to the base of his spine. His face elongated and enlarged, forming a snout as his eyes recessed, the pupils changing from round to slits. Large, sharp teeth filled his new mouth while his hands and feet became adorned with viciously sharp claws.

As the pain of the transformation faded away, Junjie threw back his head and loosed a bone-rattling roar.

Guan shoved away from Jack and hurried forward, pushing Omi back as well. “Junjie—“ he began, reaching for his friend, only to find himself caught by the throat in an unbelievably strong grip and hoisted aloft.

“I no longer acknowledge that name,” the gigantic lizard growled; his voice amplified and layered by his mutated voice box. “I am as I was meant to be. From now on, I am to be called _Chase Young_.”

With that, the newly made Chase Young tensed his arm and threw his former friend as far as he could with all his strength.

Guan disappeared quickly from sight as he went sailing over the treetops in an uncontrolled flight.

“ _YES!_ ” Jack crowed. He was ecstatic; the mission had been fulfilled. Sure, he hadn’t done anything, but at least he knew that when he got back to his own time, Chase would definitely be there.

Omi rounded on the other teenager, tears spilling down his face as he glared up at Jack. “Do not cheer just yet, Jack Spicer! While there is time, I will undo this mistake! Evil will not win the day!”

Hannibal Bean’s evil laughter interrupted. “It’s already too late, boy! The instant Junjie – excuse me, _Chase_ – accepted the potion, he gave himself to _me_ and to the forces of _Evil_. There is no going back now! The _only_ way is through death – and death no longer has hold over him! Chase Young can’t be stopped!”

“You should have paid closer attention, little monk,” Chase growled, prowling closer. “Not everything is as it seems. Not every victory means the battle is over.”

“All of which boils down to the fact that _you lose_ and we _rule_ , baby!” Jack shouted, sneering down at Omi as he turned and walked backwards to stand next to Chase.

“’We’?” echoed the giant lizard, and something in his tone made Jack go cold. He turned to look at Chase and found utterly cold, indifferent gold eyes glaring at him. “There is no _we_ , Jack Spicer. You made it very clear that you do not want me. Very well, you get your wish; I shall not come near you again. You want Guan…? Enjoy him while you can; neither one of you mean anything to me any longer. _I_ do not need _you_. I do not need _anyone!_ ”

“But, Chase—“ Jack replied, only to find himself caught by the throat and lifted just as Guan had been.

“Leave now while you have the ability to do so,” Chase snarled into Jack’s face, his gold eyes filled with malice. “If you stay, I will not be responsible for what happens, and it will _not_ be _pleasant_.”

With that, Jack was flung away from Chase. He crashed to the ground only inches from Omi, the breath knocked out of him.

Omi glanced at Jack and knew then that Junjie was lost. Over the last few days, Junjie had clearly become enamored of Jack Spicer. For the older warrior to willingly hurt Jack now could only mean that Junjie was no more and Chase Young was here to stay.

Frowning, the little monk set himself into a defensive stance as he said, “I may have failed in my mission to prevent you from becoming Chase Young, but I will do my best to defeat you _now_ , before you can become a plague upon the land!”

Chase laughed darkly and set himself into his own defensive stance, his tail lashing instinctively. “You are clearly doomed to fail, tiny hero – else you would not have come back to this time in the first place.”

Omi bared his teeth in a snarl and prepared to leap forward.

He never got the chance as Guan came flying in out of nowhere to tackle Chase backwards and out of sight.

Through the forest came the sound of a brutal fight, but Omi had no time to go see it. His shoulder was grabbed tightly. As he looked over his shoulder, he saw the white skin that could only mean one person. He glanced further up, already reaching for Jack’s wrist, and saw that the other youth was holding a very familiar Shen-Gong-Wu.

“Sands of Time!” Jack shouted, his mind fixed on a moment five minutes from when he and Omi had left.

“N—“ Omi’s shout was cut off as the Sands of Time glowed brightly and the magic caught him, yanking him forward into the time stream.


	12. It's Not Age – It's Richness of Experience

The two of them rematerialized in the courtyard of the Xiaolin Temple. Instantly, they were surrounded by Clay, Kimiko, Raimundo, and Dojo.

“Omi!” all four of them bellowed immediately, their expressions angry and frantic.

As soon as Omi let go of the Sands of Time, Jack took several steps back, slipping between Clay and Kimiko.

“Better luck next time, Baldilocks!” Jack sang out, and Omi whirled to face him. Jack fixed a new destination in his mind and called out, “Sands of Time!”

The Xiaolin Monks watched Spicer disappear. They were all silent for a moment, and then the others turned to Omi with a look of complete resignation on their faces.

“You tried to change the past, didn’t you?” Kimiko asked quietly.

Omi nodded sadly. “I thought I had succeeded. I spoke with Junjie only—“

“Who?” asked Raimundo.

“Lóng Junjie,” explained Dojo, “is the name Chase Young went by before he turned evil.”

“Ah,” said the other three monks, not really knowing _what_ to say.

Omi sighed and, as Master Fung joined them in the courtyard, he began to recite his recent adventure in the past.

 

*~*~*

 

Jack arrived at his own home two minutes later from when he disappeared from the Temple, although to him it was barely a second.

He sighed roughly as he looked at his house, knowing that his parents were still away on a trip to America; therefore he would be left to his own devices. He was thankful for this, because all he wanted at the moment was a long soak in a hot bath, an ice-cold soda, and a thick, juicy cheeseburger – or maybe some pizza. Possibly both; he was hungry for junk food.

“Well, on the plus side, I’ve got the Monkey Staff and the Sands of Time,” he muttered as he made his way into his house. “Minus side: Chase hates me more than ever. But at least he went Evil.”

Encountering a maid in the hallway, he gave orders for his meal to be delivered to his private bath and a hot bubble bath drawn. Then, he made his way down to his Evil Lair to lock the Shen-Gong-Wu in the cabinet he had designed especially for the supernatural devices.

“What happened, sir?” queried one of his robots.

“I took a little trip to the past and got thrown around by Chase Young and assorted other villains,” Jack replied tiredly as he locked the cabinet. “I’m too exhausted to work tonight. I’d like it if you’d all put yourselves away for the night.”

“Yes, sir,” replied the robot, and it turned to begin gathering up its activated fellows to shut down for a chance to recharge.

Jack made his way upstairs to his bedroom, where he shucked out of his dirty, stained, and torn garments and left them lying on the floor. He patted his heli-bot fondly, glad to see it again, and then went into his bathroom.

The wide and deep tub that was surrounded by a rectangular casing of black tile was currently filled to the brim with hot, fragrant water and bubbles. On the tile by the foot of the tub was a tray that held a thick, juicy cheeseburger as well as two slices of pepperoni pizza, a glass filled with ice-cold soda, and a frosted pitcher holding yet more soda.

“Oh, yeah,” Jack sighed. He walked over to his tub and sat on the edge. Picking up the cheeseburger, he took a big bite and closed his eyes, sighing in bliss. When he’d chewed and swallowed, he set it down, took a long, luxurious drink of soda, and then took a big bite of pizza. Finally, he swung his feet over the side and eased slowly into the hot water; groaning with relief as his aching body was warmed and relaxed by the soothing heat.

He submerged entirely, letting his hair soak for a moment, and then surfaced again, sputtering as he wiped water and suds away from his eyes. Finally, he lay back against the end of the tub and simply rested in the water for a long, long while; soaking away the grime and achiness accumulated by his adventure.

Over the course of an hour, Jack finished his meal and scrubbed himself clean, washing his hair twice. The water was lukewarm by the time he was done, but he at least felt like he was back to normal. Leaving the tray and dishes where they were, Jack pulled the plug and got out of the tub. Standing on a bath mat, he dried himself off thoroughly, then pulled his black terry cloth robe on and belted it shut. He left the bathroom with a fresh towel draped over his head, soaking up the excess moisture from his hair.

He was rubbing at his hair with the towel as he made his way towards his bed when he heard a familiar voice say: “I see you made it back in one piece.”

Jack went rigid and froze for several seconds. Then, he yanked the towel from his head and threw it to the floor while he looked for the source of the voice. There, sprawled up the length of his bed, was Chase Young – lying on his back with his arms stacked behind his head and smirking at the pale youth.

Jack shuddered hard, gave Chase a look of pure terror, and then he turned and fled. Yanking open the door to his bedroom, he bolted into the hallway and ran as fast and hard as he could.

Chase sat up swiftly and gave the open door an incredulous look. Then, scowling, he stood up and went running out the door after Jack. He caught up with the young man at the end of the hall. Reaching out, he halted Jack’s desperate run by grabbing the teen’s shoulder and yanking him off his feet.

Jack yelped as he felt himself caught and lifted. He was turned and found himself held aloft by large hands gripping his upper arms tightly as he looked into narrowed gold eyes.

“Don’t run from me,” Chase growled, shaking Jack slightly. “Don’t _ever_ run from me.”

“O-o-o-okay,” Jack agreed, stammering. “Wh-Why?”

“One reason is that it makes me… cranky. Another reason is that my instincts view anything that runs away from me as _prey_.”

Jack’s eyes widened as he got the gist of the meaning. He nodded his understanding and hoped he wasn’t about to be lizard food.

Sensing the young man’s fear, Chase sighed irritably and flung Jack over his left shoulder so that the youth draped head-first down his back while his legs hung down Chase’s front. Then he turned and walked back to Jack’s bedroom.

Jack squirmed and kicked a bit as he tried to get free of Chase’s grip on him. “Chase, please don’t kill me! I didn’t mean to – I just – I didn’t – please, don’t—“

Chase raised his right hand and slapped Jack’s robe-covered bottom sharply as he spat, “Quiet!”

Jack, who had yelped at the spank to his bottom, immediately shut up and went limp.

Appeased, Chase carried the youth into the bedroom, shut the door, and dumped Jack onto the bed. Stepping back, Chase put his fists on his hips and asked, “Why do you believe I’m going to kill you?”

Jack scooted to the far side of the bed and grabbed a pillow. He held it in front of him, knowing it made a highly ineffective shield or weapon against Chase, but he needed the illusion of safety at the moment.

“Well?” Chase demanded, baring his fangs to show his irritation.

“Because I kissed you!” Jack replied immediately, wincing. “You’ve always hated me, ever since we met – I mean, in this time – and then I kissed you. I can’t see you being happy with that.”

Chase sighed and facepalmed for a moment. Then he dropped his hand and looked at Jack as he said, “Need I remind you that I _deliberately_ didn’t tell you anything? I knew what was going to happen, Spicer; and as I recall, _I_ kissed _you_ – not the other way around.”

Jack blinked, and then looked skeptically at Chase. “You’re not going to kill me for touching you?”

Chase laughed and shook his head. “No, I’m not. I _am_ going to do _this_ , however.”

Before Jack could move, he found his head captured by Chase’s hands and his mouth being kissed. The kiss was warm and slow and it made Jack’s toes _curl_.

When Chase pulled away to look at him, Jack stared back, his eyes wide.

“I figured it out a few months after you left,” Chase said with a small grin. “You said you didn’t want me, but you were trying so hard to get me to become Chase Young. I finally figured that you meant you didn’t want _Junjie_ – you wanted Chase Young.”

Jack blushed bright crimson, but he nodded his agreement.

“I’m Chase Young,” the older man murmured; “pleased to meet you.”

Jack gave a small, hysterical laugh and squeezed his eyes shut.

Realizing that Spicer was near his breaking point, Chase tenderly stroked one of Jack’s cheeks with the knuckles of his right hand. When Jack’s red eyes opened and looked up at him, bewildered and beseeching, he smiled and said, “I have waited fifteen-hundred years for you, Jack. May I have you?”

There was no way Jack could resist. “Please,” he groaned, and relaxed as best he could; allowing his body language to signal his submission.

Chase wanted to roar with triumph. Instead, he leaned down again and touched his mouth lightly to Jack’s. When Spicer didn’t tense against him, but instead willingly parted his lips, he hummed his appreciation and began to deepen the kiss gradually; keeping himself in check so he wouldn’t overwhelm Jack, though he’d hungered for this young man for hundreds of years.

Jack let out a sweet, trembling moan and kissed back; inviting the older man to take whatever he wanted.

Chase took.

Jack felt the greedy heat of Chase’s mouth all the way down to his toes. His heartbeat doubled, his cock hardened, his toes curled. He melted against Chase like superheated plastic, moaning his approval as he realized the man’s tongue was in his mouth. Jack thought he would die with the deliciousness of it. He felt as though his nerves were on fire and he squirmed against Chase’s body, whimpering when he encountered the cool unyielding hardness of the warrior’s armor.

Chase growled and pulled away from Jack. “Wait,” he said breathlessly, pressing quick, hot kisses to the youth’s mouth, and then stood up. He swiftly divested himself of his armor, gloves and sandals, leaving him in just his tunic and trousers and socks. He stripped off his socks and opened his tunic, and then he was on the bed again, covering Jack’s body with his own and kissing the youth hungrily.

Jack moaned happily into Chase’s mouth, his arms wrapping around the warrior’s back to hold him close. Touching Chase's tongue with his own, Jack stroked clumsily but eagerly, feeling the older man’s heart start to slam against his own ribs. Those large, strong hands that Jack had always been fascinated by long before he fell in love/lust with Chase slid down to cup his arse cheeks through the lightweight cloth of his robe. Chase pulled the younger man up against his body and Jack felt the size and hardness of the other man pressing against his own erection, and he gasped and shuddered. Jack felt dizzy and weak with pleasure and his head fell back to the mattress while the taller man bent over him and slanted his mouth across Jack's like a man who was starving.

When air became a pressing need, Chase tore his mouth away, gulping air in raw gasps, then went back for more heated kisses, which Jack gave eagerly.

He clung to Chase, kissing him as devouringly as the older man kissed him back. He hardly noticed as Chase's hands slid between them to untie the belt to his robe and slip his hands inside to caress the silky skin of his back before moving downwards towards his ass. When a large warm hand closed on each cheek, Jack groaned and wriggled in the older man's grip, desperate to be touched. Chase held him, squeezed him, and then pulled away with a gasp.

They panted for breath and then Chase feathered light kisses all over Jack's face.

“Jack,” murmured Chase, his voice barely more than a heated growl. “I can’t wait much longer; I _want_ you.”

His cheeks bright pink with arousal, Jack blinked and then grinned shakily at the older man. “Whatever happened to all that patience that makes you so good at planning your schemes?”

“Used up over the last fifteen-hundred years while waiting for _you_ ,” Chase growled, pressing a nipping kiss to Jack’s mouth. “I have no wish to hurt you and I know you are not ready for everything just yet, but… I must have you. Let me give you pleasure, Jack.”

“You already have,” Jack whispered, his eyes wide.

Chase grinned. “There’s more, Jack. So much more I can do to you; more I can share with you.”

The younger man shivered. “I… please, I want that.”

The grin became a full-fledged smile. “Good. I give you my word: I won’t hurt you, Jack.”

“I believe you.”

The quiet, simple truth in those words made Chase feel warm and tingly all over.

Climbing off the younger man and the bed, Chase stood beside the bed and then smoothly pulled Jack off the bed, setting him on his feet. Jack stared at him and waited, barely breathing.

Sliding his hands up under the edges of the robe again, Chase let his hands move slowly up over the smooth white chest to the tautly muscular shoulders that not many people knew the teen possessed. Carefully, he slid the robe off of those shoulders and Jack moved subtly so the material would slide down his body to land in a heap on the floor, baring him to the warrior’s gaze.

Jack held still, his breath catching as hot gold eyes swept down the length of his body slowly, cataloguing each and every feature. Finally, Chase looked back up at him.

"You’re beautiful, Jack," he murmured. The words that he'd only heard once before, when Chase was Junjie, excited Jack almost unbearably. He watched as the older man calmly, efficiently removed his own clothes, and then Jack daringly reached up and caught Chase’s shoulders, pulling him closer.

Chase wrapped his arms around the teen and kissed him again hungrily. Then he moved lower, nipping and licking at Jack's neck, and the join of shoulder and neck. He moved lower still, nuzzling his way down Jack’s slender chest, enjoying the silky smooth feeling of all that white skin. He could feel the youth shuddering against him, but as he caught sight of one small, pale nipple, Chase felt very wicked indeed and he closed his mouth around it.

Jack arched against the taller man and bit his lip to muffle his cry while Chase's hot, wet mouth drew in his stiffened nipple, suckling it as he used his tongue to toy with the sensitive flesh. Jack writhed as Chase began to tease and stroke the other nipple with his fingers, rubbing and pinching it. Gasping, his fingers clenched on Chase's shoulders, tightening and marking the taut skin there as he struggled to remain upright on his seriously wobbly knees.

Chase left off his ministrations and straightened, kissing his young lover again. "Gently, Jack," he whispered, and then held the teen close as he guided Jack down onto the bed, settling carefully over the youth once again.

Jack quivered and calmed under the soothing tone and touch of the older man. Then, he felt a blaze of wonderful sensation shoot down his spine, between his legs and through his balls and cock, where Chase's thigh had taken up residence. As Chase kissed and suckled and nibbled on Jack's nipples again, Jack arched his back with wanton abandon, clutching the warrior’s head with both hands as he rubbed himself against that muscular thigh, groaning when he felt Chase’s erection throb hotly against his hip.

Chase stroked one of his hands down from his lover's hair, to the younger man's stomach; a finger burrowing playfully into Jack's navel before moving lower, resting just to the side of the fiercely hard erection that lay pulsing against Jack's lower belly. He didn't immediately touch it; simply stroked his fingers teasingly over the soft skin of Jack's lower belly, smiling as he felt his lover's instinctive pelvic movements become increasingly more frantic.

"Chase, please!" The words were gasped out above him and he gently bit at a nipple, feeling Jack stiffen minutely, and then moved upwards to again claim the youth’s mouth.

Jack was certain he was going to go out of his mind any minute, and then when he felt Chase’s hand wrap firmly and hotly around his straining cock, he almost did. He arched and howled into Chase's mouth as he struggled to hold back his orgasm.

Gasping, he succeeded just barely, and heard Chase mutter, "So _responsive_...." The older man proceeded to torture Jack by stroking his hand up and down in a manner all hormonally-active men were familiar with.

Jack pulled his mouth away from Chase's and said gaspingly, "Chase... please... don't… I'm going to... I’m gonna come if you... oh, please, don't...!"

Chase withdrew his hand and then took one of Jack's. He brought his lover's hand to the taut skin of his abdomen, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of that small, square, calloused hand splayed against his muscles; the fingers cool but the palm burning.

"Now, you touch me," he murmured and Jack did; his hands greedy for the older man. He caressed the muscle-ridged abdomen, tugging at the curling tufts of hair that framed the impressive erection. He suddenly craved the feel of that cock in his hand. His fingers curled around the straining cock, huge and hot and pulsing in his white hand. Chase groaned and sighed with Jack's awkward, hungry caresses.

Both of Chase's thighs were between Jack's now as he loomed over his lover, supporting his weight on both knees and one hand. His other hand was stroking Jack's face. His eyes were a hot, smoldering crystalline gold as he watched Jack pleasure with him; watched the youth’s face as Jack took in the size and heat of him; watched the younger man's body as it lay spread open beneath him, ready for his taking. And yet, he still held himself from Jack, not giving either of them what they desired. Jack was certain he was going to go insane soon if Chase didn't give him everything right at that moment.

Looking up into the older man’s hot gaze, Jack whimpered, "Chase, come on, please, do it!"

Chuckling softly, the older man bent and swiftly kissed him on the lips, but that wasn't what Jack's body wanted. He pulled gently on Chase's cock – he didn’t want to hurt the man; not only would the fun stop, but he was pretty sure Chase would throttle him for it. Jack tried to bring the other man to him, arching his body forward as well, but still Chase resisted. Jack whimpered enticingly, leaning up to seduce the older man with a line of tiny, biting kisses and licks traced up that strong, slender neck, but to no avail. Chase was hard and hot in his hands, and Jack was going crazy beneath him. But still, Chase wouldn't give him what he wanted.

"Chase, please!" he whispered at last, no pride at all when it came to the Heylin lord.

Chase shook his head, shifting to sit back on his heels. He slipped his hands beneath Jack, gripping that firm, shapely ass tightly and lifted. "No, Jack," he whispered. "You’ve never been taken before and if I did that, I would be too wild and would hurt you. We’ll get to it later. But there are plenty of other ways I may give you pleasure.”

Then, he proved it.

Jack yelled wordlessly as he felt his cock engulfed in liquid heat. Chase's mouth wrapped around him and the older man began sucking; wetting him thoroughly before beginning to move slowly up and down. His mouth and tongue were wet and scalding hot against Jack's overly sensitive flesh and it didn't take long at all before his mind hazed and he emptied himself into Chase's mouth with a choked, gasping cry that he couldn’t contain.

He was vaguely aware of Chase dropping him to the bed again; of Chase leaning in close, laying himself down atop him finally. He felt the warrior’s hot, hard cock against his own spent member and lower belly; felt it grinding and thrusting roughly against him, sliding in the slickness of Chase’s pre-come. Jack managed to lift his arms and he wrapped them around the older man’s shoulders as his lover growled quietly and thrust above him.

"Love you," Jack whispered, his voice cracking slightly.

Chase cried out then, reaching his own release, and he groaned his pleasure into the younger man’s throat as he ground himself against Jack's trembling body.

Afterwards, they lay quietly for some time; eyes closed, bodies limp except for the random tremors that quaked through them as they basked in the afterglow of their pleasure.

Slowly, Jack's eyes opened. Chase was still atop him, sprawled deadweight across him. His breathing was slightly shaky in Jack's ear and the younger man smiled goofily as he felt the fine tremor that went through the older man’s body. It made him feel kind of powerful to know that _he_ had been the one to reduce the great warrior to such a state. Chase was undoubtedly heavy and cutting off his breathing and circulation, but there was no way Jack wanted him to move.

Several moments later, Chase finally groaned and rolled sluggishly off to the side. He heard Jack sigh at the loss of warmth and weight and used his shaky strength to pull his lover against him, wrapping his arms around the smaller body.

“Was it better than you expected?” Chase murmured, staring drowsily at the ceiling while stroking his fingers through Jack’s damp hair.

“Wasn’t expecting this,” Jack mumbled against Chase’s shoulder.

The evil everlord smirked. “We’ll talk about it later. Go to sleep, Jack.”

“Mmmph,” the youth agreed, and moments later, he was snoring lightly.

Sighing, Chase willed his utterly relaxed muscles to work and he got up from the bed long enough to pull the covers down, sliding them from beneath Jack’s limp body. Then, he climbed back into the bed, settling himself against his lover, and pulled the covers up over them both. Finally, he wrapped his arms around Jack to hold him close, shut his eyes and allowed himself to go to sleep.


	13. Freedom, Immortality, and the Stars!

“So you didn’t hate me?”

Chase frowned as he carefully considered his answer. Finally, he settled for replying with, “It’s… complicated. I do not actually _like_ anyone and, when I first met you in this modern time, I was not greatly impressed with you. I was irritated at your ineptitude, given that I knew what you were capable of, but I didn’t actively hate you. I think I hated having to wait even longer than I’d anticipated for you to reach your potential. Still, that can be worked on; we have time, now.”

Jack smiled as he looked up at Chase. The older man was lying on his side with his head in his hand, propped up on his elbow. The other hand was idly stroking Jack’s belly, and the younger man was luxuriating in the fact that Chase apparently wanted to touch him “just because.” It was an awesome feeling.

“So why did you send me away?” Jack asked, remembering that last threatening encounter before he’d dragged Omi back to their time.

Chase sighed. “It was for your own safety, Jack. I very nearly took you.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It wasn’t that I was simply being evil, there at the last – it was loss of control. I was angry and hurt and nearly insane. If you had stayed, I would have taken you whether you wanted me to or not. I would have… I would have _rutted_ on you.”

Jack’s eyes widened and he felt himself go cold at the realization of how close he’d come to being dreadfully hurt.

“It hurt terribly at the time,” murmured Chase. “I believed myself inferior and that you wanted _Guan_. I was totally infatuated with you and you could barely stand to be touched by me.”

“Only because I was afraid of what you – the here-and-now-you – would do to me once I got back,” Jack replied quietly.

“I know that now. Then… well, let’s just say that I do not deal well with rejection.”

“So… I really _did_ complete the mission? I really helped you become evil?”

Chase smirked and nodded. “If not for you, I would have remained Junjie, grown old, and died centuries ago.”

“Wow,” muttered Jack. Hesitantly, he reached up his hand, wanting to touch Chase but unsure of how much right he had to do so.

The older man caught his hand and brought it to his face, humming quietly with pleasure when Jack eagerly touched him, lightly stroking and fondling one pointed ear. He looked down at the youth lying beside him and said, “I want you to touch me, Jack. Of course, there will be times when doing so will be inappropriate, but I’m confident you’ll know the difference.”

Jack snickered. “You mean I can’t strip you naked and do things to you in the middle of a battle?”

Chase raised an eyebrow. “That would be interesting, except that I doubt you even know what you mean by ‘things’.”

The younger man smirked wickedly. “True, but you’ll teach me.”

“Oh, yes, indeed,” Chase replied, and leaned down to kiss Jack.

When he pulled away, Jack was gratifyingly dazed with bliss and looked it.

However, once he came back to his senses, the youth frowned and asked, “So what was all that about trying to get Omi to rule by your side?”

“I wanted him to rule by _our_ side. I’m rather fond of Omi, actually. I know you don’t understand it, but the boy is quite charming, really – and a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, his friends won the day. But I haven’t finished with him yet.”

“So, then… when I came to your palace after he turned… why were you so…?”

“Mean? Indifferent?”

Jack nodded.

“I had to be. It was all I could do to not drag you off to a private corner and have my wicked way with you. Unfortunately, I _couldn’t_ do anything until you’d made your trip to the past,” Chase explained.

“And now that I have?” Jack asked hesitantly.

Chase grinned. “You’re mine now, Jack Spicer. I will _never_ let you go, so you’d better get used to it – fast.”

Jack laughed. “Even if I wanted to, I don’t think I could get away from you.”

“You really _are_ a genius.”

Jack snorted at the other man’s sarcasm. “I knew that already. Now, teach me something I don’t know. We’ve only got another fifty years at most.”

Chase blinked and then frowned at the younger man. “What do you mean?”

“Well… I met me from the future. I’m old and infirm and toothless and balding. Since I got old, that means I’m still going to die. So you’d better teach me everything while I’m young and can do stuff for you.”

Chase sighed and shook his head with a grin. “You’ve forgotten one aspect of the Sands of Time – not only can it help you travel _through_ time, but it can _change_ time as well. When you made that trip to the future to collect yourself, you had not yet met me. The Sands of Time acted on that information, and took you to _a_ future out of infinite possibilities – a future in which you had never met me. In _this_ timeline, you will be with me forever and always. I will teach you everything I know – including how to live forever.”

Jack’s eyes widened at the explanation. Then he groaned and smacked his forehead with his palm. “I can’t believe I forgot about temporal physics. _How many_ time machines have I built?”

Chase pulled Jack’s hand down and rubbed at the red mark on the youth’s forehead with his thumb, smirking when Jack relaxed with a sigh and a smile.

“So, still think we have only fifty or so years together?” he asked smugly.

“Nope – but I hope you know what you’ve let yourself in for,” Jack replied.

“I can handle it. If I can wait fifteen-hundred years for my lover to be born, I can handle anything.”

“Glad to hear it.”

Then, Jack surprised Chase by taking the initiative and leaning up to kiss the older man.

As Chase lay back, pulling Jack over him, he found himself more excited than he’d been in a long, long time. Jack Spicer was finally his and the future was ahead of them, but at least he wouldn’t be alone.

He couldn’t wait to find out what happened next.

 

End


End file.
